STRICTLY UNOFFICIAL An Odd Order, but not for drugs, is the following reference to an automobile, "Outimebel." A Chemical Action-"I'm strictly neutral," said the salt, as he watched the acid and the alkali mixing it, after which he dissolved from view.-["Cornell Widow." Did You Ever Have Such a Clerk?-We refer to the one reported by a subscriber to the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST. The young man was so wonderfully well posted that he would not be willing to exchange all he knew for the few things in this world which he had not yet learned. What Kind of an Automobile Do You Have?-One pharmacist was proud of his self-lighting machine; a second bragged about his self-starting automobile; while the third remarked that his machine had been long in service and he had concluded that its strong point was that of being a self-stopper. He Liked His Teacher But Loved His Schoolmates. It was the hopeful son of a prominent pharmacist who continually asked for his teacher while confined to his bed with measles. His mother complimented him on his love for his teacher. In reply, he said, "Yes, I like my teacher but I am anxious to have her see me now, because she may catch the measles and then all of the children will get a vacation. Keep Fishin'. Hi Somers was the durndest cuss, For catchin' fish-he sure was great! He never used to make a fuss About the kind of pole er bait, Er weather, neither; he'd just say, "I got to ketch a mess today." An, toward the creek you'd see him slide, I says one day to Hi, says I, "How do you always ketch 'em, Hi!” He gave his bait another switch in, An' chucklin' says, "I jest keep fishin'." [Southern Carbonator and Bottler. Experimental Chemistry. (By E. Roe.) Bill, in search of something new, In his father's oxford shoe; Just to see what it would do Johnnie in his careless glee Little Jane was happy when She found a lump of KCN; "Pa likes lots of sweets," said she, So she put it in his tea. (Strange how "died" and "suicide" Rhyme so well with "cyanide"). Alcohol Oil Cedar Oil Organum Oil Sassafras Oil Cloves Oil Cinnamon Tincture Ammonia Oil Cajuputi Tr. Capsicum Ess. Pepsin Sulphuric Ether Bals Fir Spts. Turpentine 6 ounces a a 1 drachm 2 drachm 2 drachm 2 drachms 1 drachm 2 drachm 1 drachm 1 drachm 1 drachm 1 drachm 1 drachm 1 drachm This prescription is not only extensive in the number of ingredients, but supposed to cover a wide range of therapeutic action. It cures rheumatism, neuralgia, cramps, colic, cholera morbus, billiousness and all kinds of aches and pains, including chills and fever. Of course, it should be shaken well before taken and the directions are to give one teaspoonful internally and rub on plenty where the pain is located. By those who have the most faith in it, the preparation has been designated, “Oil of Life." Editorial The Unexpected Drug Famine caused by the even less anticipated world war causes us to stop and speculate on the possibilities of continued conditions prohibiting the occurrence of old time and familiar drugs in the general market. The practice of medicine dates well back into the early dawn of the human race. Man began the treatment of disease by experimenting on himself. Physicians and pharmacists are familiar with the development of medical practice from the beginning of history down to our present day of efficiency in therapeutics and surgery. In the course of time, man became so expert in treating the afflictions of his fellow beings that he ventured to medicate the lower animals. As a result, the veterinary practice of medicine resulted. In comparatively recent times, man has extended his field of medical practice from the animal to the vegetable world. The practitioners of medicine and pharmacists as well measure the practical success of the medical science by the amount of human suffering relieved and the number of lives saved. The United States Department of Agriculture expresses in dollars and cents the results of the control and prevention of plant diseases by those who are now devoting their time and attention to that form of medical practice. In the beginning of therapeutics, materia medica was confined almost entirely to the animal kingdom. Many whole insects and animals and various parts of other animals remained for ages in materia medica. In the twentieth century, we have about discarded all of the animal drugs and look with assurance to the vegetable world for our remedies. For thousands of years, the Indians used some of the plants that we have valued as potent medicines since our advent in this country. Of recent years most of these drugs have ceased to grow wild. If they are to continue in cur materia medica, such plants must be cultivated. The government and some of our State universities have extensive experimental drug gardens. The Missouri Botanical Garden at St. Louis has set apart a large space for the cultivation of plants used in therapeutics. The indigenous drugs still growing wild in North and South America and the ones supplied by cultivation in the United States place a materia medica at the disposal of the practitioners of medicine which would be considered ample as far as vegetable drugs are concerned if it were not for inherited prejudice held against the newer materia medica and a decided and almost blind faith in the medicines of the old world which were used by our forefathers during generations and ages gone by. With the exception of opium, the medical profession should be able to adjust itself to the vegetable materia found in the new world. This country is so very young compared with the history of the human race in the old world that as yet we cling to the medical traditions of Europe, Asia and Africa. The present war and its effect on the export of drugs has placed a strain on practitioners in America. If the war continues for a few years it is likely more will be accomplished in the way of diverting attention to the materia medica of America than has resulted from the four hundred years of history only recently closed. The Department of Agriculture is alive to the situation. Several of our universities are likewise active and manufacturers are experimenting to see what they can accomplish in the way of drug cultivation. Plant pathology, plant therapeutics and plant prophylactics are developing at a time which aids materially in safeguarding the future of medicinal plant cultivation. The results of plant medication in the agricultural and horticultural world assures practical results in treating diseases of medicinal plants and preventing epidemics which might otherwise wipe out some of the most useful drugs. Just Once a Pharmacist Always a Pharmacist. why a person who has once been in pharmacy continues his liking for the calling or at least is always attracted by pharmacy is more than the pharmacist can explain. It is common, the world over, for each person to consider that he or she has happened into the very occupation which has the greatest number of drawbacks and the smallest proportion of favorable attributes. We can always see others who decidedly have the advantage of us. We blame our own calling and praise the one they fellow. However, it is pharmacy which in a few short years gains such a hold on a person that it is much more than a mere saying that "once a pharmacist, always a pharmacist." 'A correspondent of the MEYER Brothers DRUGGIST for November, 1915, solves this problem to his own satisfaction, at least, by pointing out the human touch which is constantly present among pharmacists. No other calling to the extent of pharmacy affords opportunities for coming in intimate association with mankind during the various phases of life from infancy to old age and throughout the vicissitudes of life, from the greatest joys to the deepest trials and tribulations. No matter what the occupation or the disposition of a person may be, the drug store is the place to be visited at least occasionally. The pharmacist is at once given the confidence of a professional person and expected to have the qualities of a commercial man. He must meet the exigencies of business and be able to understand and respect the confidences of a profession. This human touch, as emphasized by illustration in the Public Expressions Department of the MEYER BROTHERS DRUGGIST for November, is far-reaching and is missed by the pharmacist who enters some other calling. Those who do not feel attracted by the peculiar conditions surrounding the life of a pharmacist soon drop out of pharmacy for good. They never were |