a registered pharmacist and two years for a Q. A. Second paragraph of section 5 of the Pennsylvania Pharmacy Law reads as follows:

"All persons applying for examination for certificate to entitle them to conduct and carry on the retail drug or apothecary business must produce satisfactory evidence of having had not less than four years' practical experience in the business of retailing, compounding, or dispensing of drugs, chemicals and poisons, and of compounding of physicians' prescriptions and of being a graduate of some reputable and properly chartered college of pharmacy. And those applying for examination for certificates as qualified assistants therein must produce evidence of having not less than two years' experience in said business."

The bill defeated in the last Legislature was H. R. Bill No. 970, introduced by Mr. Gans of Philadelphia, and was for the purpose of enlarging the powers of the Board, the same being the outcome of the disagreement between the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and the New York Educational Department.

The Public Schools Are Open and ready to take care of those who are looking for an education. Pharmacists should bear this in mind. We do not refer particularly to their own children, for we believe that pharmacists in general are sufficiently wide awake to the conditions of the times to see that their children are properly educated. What we have in mind is a class of young men and we might also say young ladies who are likely to try pharmacy as an occupation. In every neighborhood in a large city and in the smaller towns throughout the country the pharmacists have been approached by parents who are anxious to place apprentices in drug stores. A pharmacist should not listen to a proposition of taking apprentices who are not properly schooled. The least schooling that an apprentice should have is one year high school work. It is much better to have graduated from the high school, as the time will come when only high school graduates or those having an educational equivalent will be eligible for entrance in the schools of pharmacy or to the examinations given by boards of pharmacy.

The British Medical Association is supposed to look after medical interests in that country, the same as the American Medical Association does in the United States or the A. Ph. A. and N. A. R. D. care for pharmaceutical affairs in this country. The British organization has been put to the test recently in an attempt to prevent the working of the national insurance which cuts deeply into the regular practice of medicine along old lines in England. The efforts of the association were unsuccessful. The members now realize that the British Medical Association is not thoroughly organized for effectual work. One difficulty seems to be that the delegates to the annual meeting are instructed at home and unable to act on their own judgment when evidence in deciding important questions should be their guide at the annual meetings. It is probable that in England as elsewhere that not infrequently local meetings have small attendance and instructed delegates do not necessarily represent the best element of the rank and file of the local organization.

Judicious Advertising is desirable and it should not be necessary to argue in its favor. The ques

tion of what constitutes judicious advertising is quite another problem and the answer may vary with the opinions of individuals.

All should agree without discussion that the character of the customers should be considered when advertising goods and especially when making use of show window displays. We were recently reminded of this when at a county home-coming a local pharmacist placed in the window boxes of cigars offered by the box at cut prices. Of those who passed the window during the home coming celebration only a very small proportion were men. Of these, some did not smoke. The town was full of women and children. It was a telling opportunity to advertise goods that would appeal to them. What is more, on such an occasion, a pharmacist should advertise goods that are not handled by many other stores.

Pharmacists Should Marry Early and remain married, that is, if they desire to live long. The state department of health of New York has determined that married men live longer than single men. This statement is made in full knowledge of the threadbare joke, "The lives of married men only seem longer." The department of health has further demonstrated that married men who become widowers will live longer if they re-marry. We should add that the above injunction applies only to pharmacists who are men. The women need not worry about getting married in order to ensure a long life. The figures available at the present time indicate that a woman does not materially increase her chances for longevity by marrying or re-marrying.

The Vanilla Market, as far as this year's crop is concerned, does not seem to have been affected by troubles in Mexico. It is feared, however, that unless conditions are improved the next Mexican crop of vanilla will fail to reach the United States. The nature of the present disturbances endangers gathering, curing and shipping of vanilla. Heretofore, the rebels have let the vanilla section of the country alone. Fortunately, our supply of vanilla now does not depend entirely on Mexico as was the case a few years ago. Mexican vanilla beans are still given the preference, but Bourbons have gained favor and it is much a matter of price in deciding on the kind when both are on the market.

The Harrison Antinarcotic Bill, which is likely to become a law, affects every dealer in narcotics. The purpose of the proposed law is to enable the government to keep a record of narcotics sold in this country. The bill is in the nature of a revenue act and places a tax of one dollar per year on such dealers as retail druggists. The National Drug Trade Conference, organized as a result of a movement started by the A. Ph. A. at Denver, last year, has secured modifications of the Harrison measure, which make it acceptable to the drug trade.

The Schools of Pharmacy open this month. Prerequisite registration is in force in only a few states but will in time become the rule throughout the country. Unregistered clerks should bear this in mind and prepare for a college of pharmacy course.

STRAY ITEMS AND COMMENTS

A Half Century will have been spent by the St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 1914. The event will be appropriately observed.

Keep the Law Where You Can See It.-The Me. Ph. A. directed the secretary to have the new narcotic law printed on card board and a copy sent to each member for display in the stores.

Price Cutting in New Jersey.-The state has an act "to prevent unfair competition and unfair trade practices." The working of the law will be watched with interest by business men throughout the country.

Have You Been in Business More Than Fifty-eight Years? According to the Pacific Drug Review, S. N. Vincent, Lapeer, Mich., has been continuously in business since 1855 and is now seventy-nine years of age. Who can break this record?

Olive Oil is Olive Oil.-There is a general impression that olive oil is ordinarily cottonseed oil misnamed. The government has examined 2,149 samples of olive oil offered for importation and found only ten adulterated. Three contained cottonseed oil and seven were cheapened with peanut oil.

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy, under the law of the state, cannot enter into active participation in the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and interchange certificates. The board, however, reciprocates with individual states with which it has a definite agreement. If you desire to register in Ohio, write to the secretary, M. N. Ford, Columbus, Ohio.

Who is Older?-At the age of 108 years, Dr. W. T. Lynn died at his home near Pana, Ill., July 27. His birthday occurred, May 28. He had practiced medicine over seventy-two years. Was born in Guernsey County, Ohio. He was the father of twelve children, the oldest living is seventy-eight years of age. The oldest grandson has reached fifty-two years. What other physician has reached a more advanced age.

Poor Teeth.-The present generation is suffering from poor teeth to a greater extent than has the human race within the period covered by remains which indicate the condition of the teeth during life. It is claimed by some that agencies are at work today which did not affect the condition of the teeth in earlier times. The Missouri Dental Association proposes to raise a research fund with a view of determining the cause of poor teeth at the present time and, if possible, find a remedy for the condition. The plan is to make each of the 40,000 dentists in the United States contribute one dollar or more towards an endowment fund for research work.

The Secret of the Big Trees. In the days of the Prophet Elijah sore famine afflicted the land of Palestine. No rain fell, the brooks ran dry, and dire distress prevailed. "Go through the land," said King Ahab to the Prophet Obadiah, "unto all the

fountains of water and unto all the brooks; peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and the mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts." When Obadiah went forth in search of forage he fell in with his chief, Elijah, and brought him to Ahab, who greeted him as the troubler of Israel. Then Elijah prayed for rain, according to the Bible story, and the famine was stayed. From this famine in Palestine, some 870 years before Christ, to the forests of the Sierra Nevadas, in the twentieth century, is a far cry, but the connecting link between the past and the present, between the ancient East and the modern West, is found in the big trees of California, the huge species known as Sequoia Washingtoniana.

In a publication entitled "The Secret of the Big Trees," by Ellsworth Huntington, just placed on sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., it is shown that the growth rings in the big trees of California indicate that in general the same sequence of climatic changes took place in California and Asia Minor. Curves indicating climatic conditions in California and Asia Minor show a remarkable resemblance between the two regions. The curves begin with the epoch of the Trojan War, about 1200 B. C. There both curves dip very low, indicating an epoch of sudden and severe desiccation. That particular period, historians tell us, was one of the most chaotic in all history.

The famine in the days of Elijah appears in both curves. Apparently at that time the climate did not become extremely dry, nothing like so bad as it had been a few hundred years earlier during the twelfth century, but there was rather a distinct falling off in the amount of rainfall as compared with the uncommonly good conditions of the preceding century. About seven hundred years before Christ both curves stand high in the day when the Greeks were laying the foundation of their future greatness and the empires of Mesopotamia were at their height. Then comes a pronounced falling off, with a recovery three or four hundred years before Christ, another decline culminating about 200 B. C., and a recovery reaching a high point 50 B. C. The time of Christ, the great era of universal peace under the sway of Rome, was apparently an epoch of favorable climate, a time of abundant rain and consequent good crops in all the countries around the Mediterranean Sea and eastward in Asia, as well as in California. Next comes a long period of decline culminating six or seven centuries after the time of Christ. No period in all history, save that which centers about 1200 B. C., was more chaotic; and that early period also appears to have been a time of greatly diminished rainfall.

This publication, which may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, for five cents, gives a detailed account of the reasons and the work that led to the conclusions given above. It also contains 13 illustrations, showing the big trees in the Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant National Parks.

STRAY ITEMS AND COMMENTS

The Hypodermic Injection of Distilled Water is now used not only as an anaesthetic, but in the treatment of syphilis.

Carelessness in Pharmacy as a Reason for Restricted Materia Medica, was the title of a paper by M. I. Wilbert at a meeting of the American Medical Association.

Pure Marriage Law. The Wisconsin Legislature passed a bill requiring a certificate of health from both parties to a nuptial agreement as a preliminary to the granting of a marriage license. Examinations by physicians are required.

Olive Oil and Phosphorus squirted over the Bastile at the beginning of the French Revolution was the method proposed to set the Bastile on fire. Phosphorus was a chemical curiosity in those days and it is not likely that a pound was in existence.

Castor Beans in Florida continue growing from year to year in those sections where frost does not kill them. E. P. Halley, at Trilby, has plants three years old and is anxious to know whether it will pay him to market the beans. Who can give information on this subject?

The Sign of the Coffin.-The Chicago council is considering a bill which provides for bichloride of mercury tablets in coffin shape. At one time, the sign of the coffin was very significant, but today it attracts less attention than formerly. However, there

is no harm in trying the proposition, which seems to have originated in Chicago.

The Opium Conference of The Hague resulted in thirty-five governments agreeing to the general plan of controlling the sale of narcotics. Another conference will be held at The Hague, December 31. The Drug Conference arranged by the A. Ph. A. exerted considerable influence in determining the general plan agreed upon at The Hague.

Medical Practice Freaks are plentiful in every community. It is, however, exceptional for a state to follow the example of Arizona, California and Washington where different standards of education are required for the various systems of practice. A real physician must be an educated man, but an osteopath can secure a license without much education.

Claude Bernard was born in France, July 12, 1813, so this is his centennial. He easily overshadowed all of his contemporaries as a physiologist. His work was directed particularly to subjects connected with vegetable physiology. He was the first to separate pure pancreatic juice. His work as a physiologist had a marked effect in promoting scientific research and more exact medical teaching.

The Tariff on Books has been changed and books in foreign languages are no longer to be on the free list. Books which are twenty years old or more must have been bound for at least twenty years in order to be entitled to free entry. This will complicate matters in securing from second

hand dealers abroad old books, especially German books. The change is evidently not in the interest of science.

A Vacation Spent in the Mountains is merely a vacation to the average person. The physiologist takes quite a different view and after one hundred years or more has been spent trying to determine the effect of altitude on the circulation of the. blood, the number of red corpuscles and the amount of hemoglobin which the blood contains, experiments, arguments and explanations are numerous but not very conclusive. Meantime, people continue to spend vacations in high altitudes.

Government Approves Tobacco Dip for Scabies in Cattle. The Secretary of Agriculture has amended Order 143, effective August 15, 1913, relating to dips for scabies in cattle by permitting the use of the tobacco dip prepared from tobacco and suitable tobacco products, provided it contains not less than seven-hundredths of 1% of nicotine. Heretofore, the requirements have been that the tobacco dip should contain not less than five-hundredths of 1% of nicotine and 2% flowers of sulphur. The tobacco dip of the new strength need not contain the sulphur. The regulation remains unchanged regarding the lime-and-sulphur dip, which may be used as directed in the Order.

Bodemann Always Up-to-Date.-MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST, in the August issue, mentions the practice of a large firm which has discontinued the use of "Dear Sir," "Very truly," etc., in business correspondence. Of course, Wilhelm Bodemann read this item (By the way, he says that he reads every word in each issue of the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST). He explains that as far back as he can remember, which includes many pleasant summers and a few chilly winters, he has avoided the formality of "Dear Sir," etc. He will address a near friend in endearing terms, but he says "Dear Sir" applies to the worldly and the unworldly alike and means nothing. Then he continues: "When I have finished a letter, I sign it. I would as soon think of saying 'Yours truly,' on a check as in a letter."

When Using the Telephone in Germany be careful what you say to the telephone girls. A Berlin lawyer was published for calling telephone girls camels and sheep. In this manner, he slandered the postoffice department, which has control of the telephone system in that city. The guilty lawyer did not deny applying these names to the girls, but in defense stated that within forty-five minutes he had called nine times and on each occasion had been told, "The wire is busy." It must be remembered that in the German language to be called a camel is a disgrace. In this country, telephone girls would laugh at such names and a lawyer would consider himself fortunate if he could secure the party he desired over the 'phone within three-quarters of an hour or in nine inquiries. We should not forget to mention that this poor lawyer was fined $65.00 and all on account of telling telephone girls that they were camels and sheep.

IN BRIEF

Creeping eruption is due to a larva.

Do you use good labels? If not, why not? A wireless message has been sent 3,900 miles. A smile will attract more customers than a frown. Cold greatly retards the action of micro-organisms. Arizona and California both have new medical acts. Red gasolin cans are now required by the Illinois law.

Work off your dead stock before it is thoroughly dead.

Women in pharmacy are too busy to be suffragettes.

A poor atomizer is almost agonizing. Sell only

the best.

Are you making every legitimate effort to increase your sales?

One button is sufficient for a sample, so is one hot summer.

"Pull for progressive pharmacy," is the motto of the S. C. Ph. A.

During 1911, typhoid fever caused 12,457 deaths in the United States.

The scientific treatment of tetanus has not as yet been established.

Just think of it, some people advertise goods they do not have in stock.

The war upon the fly is beginning to tell and in the interest of hygiene.

Artificial respiration is now practiced in heat strokes with difficult breathing.

Teaching people how to live and keep well is one of the functions of a pharmacist.

Typhoid fever is being controlled in Australia as well as in Europe and this country.

Do you keep the cellar in good condition, that is, with the goods conveniently arranged?

Do not lead up in conversation to a difference with

a customer. It is not to your interest.

The use of anilin dyes in therapeutics continues to have a hold on the medical profession.

Uniform food and drug laws are desirable. Keep this in mind when working for legislation.

Even though it is more work to keep the store clean in dusty weather, do not hesitate in doing so. Potash from feldspar is the plan of a firm located at Baltimore. The property is located at Laurel, Md. Friedman and his cure seem to be in close company with Dr. Frederick Cook and his North Pole. Sunstroke is especially prone to re-occurrence. Those who have had it once should bear this in mind.

California is a great hop-raising state. The pickers recently struck because they wanted water twice a day.

The tropical zone seems to have removed and was reported, the past summer, in various sections of the country.

The rat supply of Manila is sufficient to replace the death from natural causes of about 2,500 rats per month.

When a race horse sells for $250,000, we must admit that the automobile has not entirely replaced the animal.

Matter was separated into atoms by the chemists long ago, now we divide atoms into electrons. What will come next?

Wood alcohol in varnish applied to vats in a brewery caused the death of one workman and the blindness of another.

The courts have decided that a city has a right to demand the tuberculin testing of cows from which its milk supply comes.

The G. A. R. will meet at Chattanooga, September 15, but cannot have a better time than had the A. Ph. A. at Nashville, August 18.

The phonedoscope is a scientific instrument for locating underground streams of water. Can it compete with witch hazel rods?

Powdered lye is now used in the burrows of gophers. The animals get the lye on their feet, lick it off and are poisoned.

The Idaho Ph. A. is only seven years old, but the proceedings of the 1913 meeting, just at hand, indicate a healthy and useful organization.

Roman candles have been recommended for use in driving away bears when camping in Yellowstone Park. A. Ph. A. visitors, please bear this in mind.

Witch hazel as a means of locating water is a failure according to recent scientific investigations. Faith in the witch hazel rod, however, will continue. A medical practitioner says, "Beware of conclusions drawn from picked cases." This is also good advice when considering pharmaceutical education.

Exhibits were a prominent feature of the Louisiana Ph. A. convention this year. As a rule, exhibits receive less attention than formerly at state meetings.

Treatment by prayer and the like is exempted under the new medical act in Arizona. Perhaps a certain class of practitioners prayed for this exemption.

An Englishman explains by the rich supply of blood in the posterior of the brain of women the reason for women's talking more and faster than

men.

In 300 years there will be more lunatics than sane people in the world. So says Dr. Forbes Winslow. Some people think that it is not necessary to wait three hundred years.

Chemical names are becoming more complicated, so are Biblical names. Since the discovery of that ancient Babylonian tablet the name of Noah must be changed to Ziugidda.

A practitioner of experience says that the main thing in treating drug fiends is to first get full control of them by gaining their confidence and to have a reliable nurse to handle them.

Much scientific attention is being given to the study of tuberculous meningitis. The infection is one which physicians dislike to treat on account of the difficulty in controlling it.

IN BRIEF

Pre-requisite is in force in Pennsylvania.

Can you make your stores more attractive? The power of personality is a big factor in selling goods.

Do you receive prescriptions over the phone? If not, why not?

Who are the ten greatest men in pharmacy? No two judges seem to agree.

A New Jersey pharmacist was punished for selling wood alcohol in paregoric.

The mineral water business in Europe is immense, but soda water goes a-begging.

Herman C. Shuptrine, ex-president of the N. A. R. D., is now a Georgia legislator.

The pharmacy law of Pennsylvania, now in force, is the one amended March 24, 1905.

The Maryland Ph. A. gave particular attention to trade topics at the annual meeting.

Professor J. P. Remington was the guest of the S. D. Ph. A. at the annual meeting this year.

The St. Louis Branch of the A. Ph. A. has frequent informal meetings at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The Trade Press Convention will hold its eighth annual meeting at Hotel Astor, New York, September 18-20.

The Chicago Drug Club has had nine annual basket picnics. Judging from the popularity, many more will follow.

Pharmacists in Pennsylvania and Illinois mourn the death of bills intended to improve the condition of pharmacy in those important states.

Read carefully notices of judgments under the Food and Drugs Act which are shown you with a view of prejudicing you against a manufacturer.

Politics in pharmacy developed early with the approach of the recent N. A. R. D. convention. Various local organizations endorsed their favorite candidates.

It was at Mitchell, S. D., that a man ran out of gasolin for his automobile and managed to use a bottle of patent medicine until he could reach a supply of gasolin.

With a chain of eighty stores, the Riker-Hegeman Company, of New York City, has troubles of its own. Just think what it means to the average pharmacist to look after one store.

At 7 a. m. a number of delegates at the S. D. Ph. A. enjoyed the shooting grounds of the Sioux Falls Gun Club. Pharmacists are accustomed to early rising, but seldom are at work so early at conventions.

William Weightman III, grandson of the founder of the quinine manufacturing business in this country, had a romantic marriage recently, and with his bride started on a two years' tour round the world. In fifteen years 100-lbs. packages will be carried by parcel post at reduced rates. So says the postmaster general. This will not help the drug business, because prescriptions will weigh even less in fifteen years than they do now.

STRAY ITEMS AND COMMENTS

Prescriptions for Poison.-England is considering a bill to prevent the filling of prescriptions calling for substances in the poison schedule.

Reduce the Supply of Criminals.-Wisconsin passed a bill for the sterilization of the feebleminded, epileptic and criminal insane in state and county institutions.

Chiropractice does not apply to corn doctors, but to those who find that all bodily troubles are due to the pressure on the spinal nerves. Such a practitioner was recently fined $200.00 and costs at Canton, Ohio. He was charged with practicing medi

cine without a license.

Natural and Synthetic Salicylates are still the subject of discussion by practitioners. Some claim that nature has a laboratory which cannot be imitated by chemistry. The general trend, however, is towards placing synthetic compounds on a parity with the natural products.

Watch the Telephone Booth.-Lucian B. Maxwell warns the readers of the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST against customers who spend much time in or at the telephone booth. He caught such a party stealing goods. She had been killing time at the telephone, in order to watch an opportunity to help herself at the cash drawer.

Pharmacists Who Handle Cameras are pleased with the court decision which prevents the kodak manufacturers from enforcing their iron-clad contracts. It is no longer necessary to handle only one line and adhere to fixed prices. This decision seems to please some who do not on general principles believe in cut rates on drugs. It depends upon the goods cut.

After the Department Stores.-The Wisconsin Ph. A. gave the department stores a little free advertising at the recent annual meeting. A resolution was adopted calling atention to the prices charged by department stores in Milwaukee. The document further declares that these prices cannot be afforded for standard preparations and urges the food and drug inspector to investigate and prosecute.

Saccharin is having a hard time of it on account of the constant warfare waged against the use of this article by those who were most interested in the production and sale of sugar. The Referee Board of Consulting Scientific Experts appointed by the government reported no evidence of saccharin's harming a food product and causing injury. Subsequently, the use of saccharin was favored by the board. The saccharin manufacturers very naturally felt the discrimination against them caused by laws based on prejudice rather than fact. A similar popular prejudice was cultivated when oleomargarine became a commercial article. Gradually, the public outgrows its false notion. The time will come when both saccharin and olemargarine will receive just recognition.