IN BRIEF

Keep a complete stock book.

Do you push periodicals as a side line? The first X-ray photograph was made in 1896. Do you carefully study prescription costs and profits?

Do you know what is meant by modern business methods?

St. Louis is the largest wholesale shipping station in the world.

Mil will be used in the U. S. P. IX in place of cubic centimeter.

There is no luck in success and seldom success in depending on luck.

Buttermilk is a very legitimate and popular article at the soda fountain.

Cincinnati is the largest distributing center for whiskey in the world.

Do you make the soda fountain pay or are you in the dark as to profits?

Keep in a convenient place goods for which most frequent calls are made.

Argon is now a commercial product sold in flasks of 100 cubic feet capacity.

At what price are you selling spirit of peppermint? Do you know the cost price?

Does your store shout, "Keep out," or pleasantly extend an invitation to enter?

When you handle candy as a side line, give attention to a high grade of goods.

Remember, anger costs blood, time, attention, foresight, plans, and lastly, progress.

The University of Illinois School of Pharmacy Alumni Ebert Fund now exceeds $600.

Great Britain will not permit soap containing more than 1 per cent of glycerin to be exported.

The essential oils are now suggested as substitutes for glycerin or sugar as sweeteners.

Nobody ever creates any business by talking that there is no business.-[Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch. Nitrogen is playing a very important part in this war, owing to the unparalleled use of explosives.

Saponin is barred from food products by the Bureau of Chemistry of the Department of Agriculture. Logwood and all other dye woods have been prohibited exportation by the Netherlands government.

A practical process for silvering glass was detailed on page 138 of MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST for May.

Charles Darwin said that the man who dared to waste an hour of time had not discovered the value of life.

Do not make arrangements that interfere with your attending your state pharmaceutical association convention.

The Illinois Board of Pharmacy has specified a list of articles which may be legally sold by general merchants.

The American ports are better suited by nature

to handle the largest ocean liners than are any of the old world ports.

Do you have an individual acquaintanceship with your customers so that you can serve them in a pleasant manner?

U. S. P. IX + N. F. IV X study = preparedness. Such will be the case as soon as these two standards are on the market.

It was an old Indian who said that when a man prays one day and steals six, the Great Spirit weeps and the evil one laughs.

It was a chemistry student who, on examination, said, "Sulphuric acid is a vicious liquid, miserable in water in all proportions."

Every visitor to a store is a possible customer who feels interested even though he does not indicate a desire to make a purchase.

It is some time since we have had inquiries about jenubebin or blodgetti and other similar fake names. Has the day of fake prescriptions passed?

Turkey has placed bees' wax on the list of prohibited exports. Have the bees entered the war or for other reasons cut down their production?

The man who changed his initial from "R." to "H." because he could not make a good "R" should have studied medicine. His prescriptions would be legible.

The Pharmaceutical Era publishes a picture of fifteen hundred mortars collected in Germany for the purpose of using the metal in the manufacture of war material.

The magnitude of the drug business is exemplified by the shipment of one half million dollars' worth of Salvarsan, which recently arrived in New York City from Germany.

Since the beginning of the war, The Chemist & Druggist, of England, has printed the names of 3,544 individuals connected with British pharmacy who have gone to the front.

All arsenic produced in the United States is a byproduct in the smelting or refining of the non-ferrous metals. The price does not justify all that might otherwise be produced.

Drug store papers are not as new advertising schemes as some people may suppose. W. L. Dewoody, of Pine Bluff, Ark., in 1883, edited and published the "Pine Bluff Druggist."

A course in First Aid will be given by the California College of Pharmacy if the request of the San. Francisco Branch of the A. Ph. A. is heeded. Preparedness is now the order of the day.

Potassium permanganate in contact with organic matter is liable to cause an explosion. A Missouri druggist met with such an experience recently. At the present price of this chemical such demonstrations are expensive.

A Los Angeles woman who has long believed that men have no right to smoke on street cars found a new argument recently. She says that hard times cause men to smoke poor cigars, which are a nuisance, no matter where smoked.

PUBLIC EXPRESSIONS

Read This Before You Write.

Contributions on subjects of interest to the pharmaceutical profession are always welcome. Write upon but one side of the sheet and spell out in full the names of medicines; never use abbreviations. The editor pays no attention to anonymous communica

Powdered Glass as a Vermifuge.-The item on page 100 of the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST for April reminds me of something which may be of interest to your readers. Powdered glass is administered to dogs as a worm remedy. This information, which is not found in books, is based on empiricism, but has been used with good results.-[Otto Raubenheimer, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Stability and Progress in Pharmacy.-Trade associations offer the best hope for stability and progress in business. Read the story of the trade associations in Germany. Read the recommendations of the vice-chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. The drug trade of Missouri should be more largely represented at the next annual meeting of the Mo. Ph. A. Let us all help bring this about.-[H. D. Faxon, Kansas City.

Not Safe to Fill Liquor Prescriptions in Prohibition Towns. I have just been convicted of a violation of the Local Option Law. For the information of other pharmacists and to show that it is not safe to fill any kind of a prescription for liquor in a local option district, I give below an exact copy of the prescription which I filled.

J. M. Huston, St. Louis, Mo. R. J. Fletcher, M. D. Signature of Dr. Crooked, Twisted, Knarled and Deformed Teeth are a source of danger to the child, family and state as well. Buck Teeth Ben soon gets too sensitive to be in touch with his playmates, and he stays in the background-getting further and further away from his fellows.

The child is in danger of being a recluse, a backward. Dentists are to be found all over the land. Call on them.

In every state, in almost every county, you will find people, societies, calling the attention of mother to the necessities of dental cleanliness. Clean the teeth. You will find that a clean tooth never decays -you will find dark spots on the teeth, under which lurk small germs that eat holes in the teeth. Get a little orris root and a good brush and rub your teeth. Get a brush for the boy and one for the girl. When you find the teeth and gums sore, bleed, the teeth falling into holes, the gums separate from the teeth, black spots on the teeth inside and outside of jaw,

there is bacteria on the teeth; a little fluid ergan will destroy the germs. If the teeth are in the last stages of decay, see a dentist.

Don't wait until you have lost your best teeth to look after your mouth. Watch the boy's and girl's mouth. Disease often comes from decayed teeth. [Margaret Hudson, President, Crooked Teeth Society.

Hot Springs is a Very Interesting Place. I find Hot Springs, Ark., a beautiful place and so interesting that every one should visit it. Unless particularly familiar with the actual occurrences, it is difficult to believe all of the wonderful results obtained from treatment here.-[J. Pat Hemby, Weimar Drug Company, Hot Springs, Ark.

J. PAT. HEMBY

Work Being Accomplished by the Mo. Ph. A.-This organization has been instrumental in devising and passing laws that keep Tom, Dick and Harry from becoming illegitimate competitors of Missouri pharmacists. This protection has been shared by all pharmacists of the state without regard to their being members of the Mo. Ph. A. It is true that some irregularities continue and a few may be disappointed that more has not been accomplished. For this reason, we should all work the harder and make conditions better for pharmacists and the consuming public in Missouri.-[Jesse E. Koppenbrink, St. Louis, President.

Pharmacists Should Go West to Kansas.-The writer has been traveling the past three weeks over the extreme northeast part of the state from Republic County, thence to Jewell, Smith, Phillips and Morton Counties. These counties are rich in agricultural products, alfalfa, wheat and corn. Thousands of bushels of corn are lying idle in the fields. Thousands of bushels are awaiting shipment, but a scarcity of cars prevents doing so, and many thousands of bushels more of corn are in the bin used for food for as fine a bunch of cattle as ever grazed. Well-kept farms, beautiful houses, many of them modern in every respect, add to the comforts of home. The farmers out here are all prosperous. Every farmer owns one or more automobiles. Every village and hamlet shows signs of prosperity and as for the smaller cities, some of our easterners could well profit by a visit through this section of Kansas. The stores are all well stocked and the drug stores, a model of neatness, well arranged by as bright and up-to-date pharmacists as one can find in any community. The people are law-abiding in every respect, they have been brought up in an atmosphere of purity. The new generation are thrifty and industrious. Churches and school houses are many. Of the latter, you will find school buildings from an architectural standpoint equal to any metropol

itan city and, as for the line of instruction taught, will compare favorably with any city. Kansas, the state of plenty, Kansas, the state of sunshine and honey, the state that the nation can be proud of, the state that long ago passed or should have passed out of ridicule. All hats off to Kansas. Its broad fields of productiveness, protected by the blue heavens and nature in all its blessedness, has produced a most wonderful state.

The writer has covered this broad era in an auto, the only way to see Kansas in all of its glory. To those seeking health and recuperative power, I would advise as Horace Greeley said, "Go west, young man; go west."-[Ed C. Fritsche, Ph. G.

The Pharmacy Course in the Cass Technical High School of Detroit. In accordance with the request of the editor, I will give a brief outline of the Pharmacy Course which we offer for the benefit of the druggists of Detroit.

For the past two or three years there has been a steadily increasing demand for some such work in our continuation department. Hardly a week passed without some inquiry at the office concerning such a course. Most of these young men were drug clerks who could ill afford either the time or money to attend one of the larger pharmacy schools. Still they wanted and needed something better than the many quiz books and review courses could offer. Therefore, after careful study of the syllabus and conferences with the leading retail druggists and A. Ph. A men, we planned a course to continue through two years, forty weeks a year. This will require three afternoons, four hours each and three nights, three hours each. feel this will give us time to offer a fairly thorough course in chemistry and pharmacy. For instance, we have required the equivalent of two years' work in high school.

We

Besides this we are now offering a regular four years' course in pharmacy. This will give the boys a good pharmaceutical training along with the essentials of an ordinary high school education. We hope through this kind of work to give the drug stores of Detroit a better grade of clerks than may be possible at present. This course also, it seems to me, offers the best possible training for the boy whose ambition is to enter a medical school or take up work in higher chemistry. We are not trying to make analytical or pharmaceutical chemists of these boys, but simply trying to give them a good practical training which will help them a little better to fill their chosen position in life.

I will be pleased to forward a printed outline of the two courses. I am anxious to receive suggestions from the readers of the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST, and will try to answer any questions that may be asked concerning the details of the work we have in hand.-[F. T. Bradt, Cass Technical High School, Detroit, Mich.

Sell Only the Best Perfumes and carefully handle the goods. I do not think there is anything in the

entire drug and pharmaceutical line that is more disregarded than the department of perfume. We do not give proper attention to the careful selection of perfumes with a pleasant aroma of the flowers. It is as important a department of the drug trade as any other branch and the goods should be carefully arranged and handled.

The purchaser of perfumes for the retail drug trade has in mind competition with the cheap odors of the department stores and ten cent counters. At the same time, he expects to hold a trade with better goods. If you are to be listed as a pharmacist who takes pains to have the best in stock and cater to the wants of thoughtful people, you must forget the cheap John trade.

The writer has had many years of experience in buying and selling drugs, perfumery and toilet articles. He has tried many methods and carefully observed their relative value. I am fully convinced that a few fine odors carefully selected is the proper procedure. The best that money can buy is none too good.

It must not be forgotten that even the best perfumes procurable will not please the retail drug trade unless the goods are given proper attention and deterioration prevented. Never permit a customer to inspect goods from the original container by placing his nostrils over the bottle and then passing from one bottle to another.

I suggest the purchase of a dozen odors and the keeping of them in dust-proof cases of appropriate size. The glass should be stained or the case darkened by curtains in order to keep out the strong light. Small one-half ounce vials containing duplicate of stock should be convenient for ready sales. These small bottles should be supplied with glass rod stoppers. Small strips of blotting paper moistened and the name of the odor on the blotter will facilitate sales. Such a strip of blotting paper gives the true odor as the perfume evaporates. The customer will observe and appreciate the careful attention which you give the handling of perfumes. In this way, your sales will increase and the ten cents goods be forgotten.

If you desire to sell some goods under your own label or a trade mark, you can blend odors from stock to suit the customer. The wholesale man will help you out in making appropriate combinations. You should certainly avoid trying to intensify the strong permanent odors with musk or any such overbearing blend. Proper combinations retain the true odor of the flowers and, as the saying is, "you can see it coming by the smell." It is always pleasant to be in a social gathering where floral odors prevail. The blending of one with another adds to the satisfaction. Still, if one person enters a room with a strong perfume foreign to the delicate odors, it will have a depressing effect on the pleasure of the entire party. -[T. A. Moseley, Kansas City, Kan.

lodoform Gauze.--Leclair prepares a 30 per cent iodoform gauze by the following process: Iodoform in impalpable powder, 30; glycerin, 30; solution of mercuric chloride (Codex), q. s.; gauze, free from dressing, 100. Mass the iodoform with the glycerin, and gradually add sufficient mercuric chloride solution to thoroughly moisten the gauze. The iodoform should be in perfectly even suspension in the liquid. The gauze should not be wholly unrolled. It is worked about in the liquid until uniformly moistened, then drained, and partially dried in a dark place. When only just moist, it is wrapped in parchment

Alcohol, a sufficient quantity to make

1 Gm.

4 mils.

125 mils. 1000 mils.

This represents Formula No. 3 (Alcohol, containing one part Formaldehyde and 250 parts of alcohol), with the addition of Tartar Emetic in a quantity sufficient so that one ounce or more of the mixture when taken internally will cause emesis.

The label framed by the committee reads as follows:

BATHING ALCOHOL-FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY POISONOUS IF TAKEN INTERNALLY

Pure Grain Alcohol Modified to Comply With the Federal Revenue Regulations.

The label to be printed in red ink.

Cachous for the Breath.--These are described in various works on pharmacy. They consist of various aromatics combined with licorice extract, sometimes sugar, the whole being formed into a mass which may be divided into pellets, or it may be rolled out

Reduce the drugs to powder, add the remaining ingredients; make a mass and divide into pills weighing 1 grain each, or roll out flat and cut out into small pieces.

Mix the ingredients intimately, forming a powder, add enough water to make a dough, and make into pellets.

Rainbow Show, Globes.-Come in vogue from time to time. They are not difficult to make but require frequent renewal as colors fade or mix with each other.

(1) The liquids must be introduced in the order of their specific gravities, the heaviest first, the next heaviest second, and so on; (2) each stratum must be so arranged that it will lie between strata of liquids with which it is not miscible; (3) care must be taken that the coloring matter of each stratum is insoluble in the media immediately above. and below it.

The liquids generally used as solvents are oil of turpentine, olive, cottonseed, almond and castor oils, glycerin, chloroform, alcohol and a number of others that should readily suggest themselves. The following will serve as an example of the process of making such a jar:

For the base or bottom stratum, we will take a blue, for which indigo sulphate dissolved in sulphuric acid will answer. For the second we will take chloroform alone. The third layer may consist of glycerin tinted with caramel; the fourth, castor oil colored with alkanet root; the fifth, proof spirit tinted with anilin green; the sixth, cod liver oil, carrying 1 per cent of oil of turpentine; the seventh, alcohol tinted with violet anilin, and so on.

The liquids must be introduced through a tube, the lowest point of which should approach the surface of the layer previously introduced as closely as possible without actual contact, and the point directed against the side of the jar or globe, so that the liquid may flow as gently as possible and spread itself over the surface without disturbing the same.

And so you really are anxious to know the names of your other two competitors, also what information our detective department has found out about them. Well, Mr. Smith, we are quite willing to disclose the names of these competitors, but as to our detectives' report on them will say that it is entirely too comprehensive to give to you in all of its details. The report comprises several hundred thousand typewritten pages constructed to our code which we must not make public. However, we have no objections to giving you some general statements, at least those which we have reason to believe will place you in position to outwit them, and thereby get the people in and about your town to come to your store to buy their perfume.

The competitor of yours whose name is at the tip of our tongue has existed since the days of credulous Eve, and words are inadequate to express how much mankind has suffered at his hands. His name is PREJUDICE. You may know him by one of his nicknames for he has several of them. You will find that he is no tongue-pad nor orator like your competitor mentioned in our previous letter, but that he goes surlily about his business. It is he that induces the people to form adverse opinions to what you tell them about your perfumes and of your ability to adapt a certain odor to a particular person. He does not stop there, but to many he ridicules the idea of their reading your advertisements, your letters, and of listening to your talks on good perfume other than in a superficial way. Furthermore, he tries to make them believe, that it is a waste of their time to look at the perfume displays in your windows and in your show cases. And here you should reflect upon your previous observation of some of the people who called at your store. You then probably stood in wonderment in not being able to ferret out the cause why so many seemingly intelligent, society people deliberately turned their heads or closed their eyes to the displays that had caused you hours of hard work and weeks of forethought.

Again, others would put their hands over their ears, to speak figuratively, whenever in the course of your conversation with them you made the slightest reference to the better grades of perfume. At the close of your remarks they would ply you with

biased questions about some cheap brand of perfume, and from the nature of the gestures accompanying the questions you probably were nonplussed to speak up with intelligent, rebuttal answers. One of our secret service men was in your store at the time an incident of this kind happened, and some day, with your permission, we shall relate the case in its details through the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST. Before doing so, however, we shall make sure that you have everybody in and about your town coming to your store for B. & M. perfumes.

You have some people about your town who do not use perfume, and the reason why they do not has been traced to the influence of this competitor. He instills them with the belief that perfume applied to their person weakens their standing and fealty, and is the first step to vanity and sin. This type of people, most generally, are uninteresting, for they are blinded to the higher aspirations of life. They look upon this competitor of yours as the "amicus humani generis," the friend of the human

race.

This competitor has a slogan. It is indelibly stamped upon the face of everyone who listens to him. You can find out what this slogan means by looking behind the screen formed by the lines and scroll work in the faces of the pernicious, the arrogant, the presumptive, the morose, the contumacious, the suspicious and the captious people.

You see by this time, Mr. Smith, that there is running through this competitor's work a surge of revengeful anger, a blaze of jealous passion, and a cold and stern determination to do everything possible to put the people of your town in a rancorous frame of mind towards the use of the better grades of perfume.

Very truly,

W. H. N. O. J. NEDLEKCAM.

OURSELVES AS OTHERS SEE US

An interesting pharmaceutical journal is the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST.-[H. C. Heiser, Waukon, Ia. I have enjoyed very much the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST. [George H. Masengarb, Geneseo, II.

I Have an Index Key to items in the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST which I expect to consult as necessity arises. I appreciate the journal from both the scientific point of view and the social feature.-[H. R. Huffendick, Collinsville.

TIME IN WHICH POISONS IN THE BLOOD ARE FIXED BY THE TISSUES. The time required for the fixation of poisons by the tissues is variable, but is always brief. When tartar emetic and arsenic are introduced into the bloodstreams they are fixed in thirty seconds. Dinitriles are completely removed from the blood and fixed by the tissues in two minutes. Sodium perchlorate disappears in ten minutes.-[J. de la Haye (Bull Soc. chem. belge, 28, 168).