$1.18 represents the bare cost of the ingredients.

Cornelius Beukma, of Dallas, Texas, figures it would cost him 96 cents for the material involved, while one cent under a dollar represents to R. P. Daniel, of San Antonio, Texas, the sum that the ingredients would stand him. Now, although these eight druggists, with two exceptions, agree quite closely as to the cost of the ingredients used, the arithmetic employed by some of them shows rather startling inaccuracies.

Not all of them state how they arrived at the various cost prices, but from those who do give itemized estimates we get a jumble of figures that, to say the least, is bewildering.

According to prices quoted in the catalogues of leading jobbers, Hemaboloids cost 75 cents for a twelve-ounce bottle, and Pepto-Mangan costs 84 cents for a bottle containing eleven ounces, if bought in less than dozen lots; if bought in dozen lots, it costs 79 cents.

SIMPLE MISTAKES IN CALCULATIONS.

Druggist A says he pays 79 cents for PeptoMangan, and estimates that eight fluidounces cost him 58 cents, which is correct. But he says that 7 fluidounces of Hemaboloids stands him 33 cents. He is 11 cents out of the way in this, for the 7 fluidounces cost, in reality, 44

cents.

Druggist B, who says that he buys PeptoMangan for 72 cents a bottle, figures that 8 fluidounces cost 54 cents, which figure is only a cent out of the way. He states, however, that 7 fluidounces of Hemaboloids sets him back 54 cents, which sum is 10 cents in excess of the correct figure.

Druggists C pays 84 cents for PeptoMangan. At that price, 8 fluidounces cost him 62 cents. He has it 60 cents. He figures 45 cents as the price of the Hemaboloids, and comes within a cent of being correct.

Druggist D says 8 fluid ounces of PeptoMangan, Gude, is equivalent to 2/3 of a bottle, and that 7 fluidounces of Hemaboloids represents the quantity contained in half a bottle of that preparation. Basing his calculations on those wrong amounts he gets costs of 56 and 38 cents, respectively.

Two other druggists who show how they compute do pretty well. Their figures, while not correct, are in both instances but two cents

Of the seven men who quote a cost figure for the tincture of Nux Vomica, one says that an ounce of it costs 3 cents, five state that the ounce costs 5 cents, and one gives 10 cents as the cost. Whether these men made their own tinctures, used diluted fluidextracts, or bought the products ready-made, it hardly seems that prices of 48 cents, 80 cents and $1.60 for the sanie preparation can all be right. The discrepancies would rather indicate that arithmetic was again at fault in part of the cases at least.

Considerable variation is also seen in the estimates of the cost of bottle, label, and cork. Three give it as 5 cents, two place it at 6 cents, one says 7 cents, and one 10 cents.

Such inaccuracies in very elementary problems of arithmetic seem almost inexcusable.

They may, however, account in a way for the widely diversified prices charged by different druggists for the same mixture.

In the case of this prescription, eleven druggists, not including the one who filled it for 90 cents, quote prices ranging anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50.

C. S. Goodwin, of Davidson, N. C., thinks that $1.50 is the correct figure.

Mr. Urbanski, Mr. Gratny, and Mr. Daniel all believe that the original figure of $1.75 is a fair charge to make. So do Ralph L. Fogg, Haverhill, Mass., and E. H. White, McNary, La.

Mr. Meyer says that ordinarily his charge would be $2.00, but under certain circumstances (if the patient was a chronic invalid using a great deal of medicine, for instance) he might make a price as low as $1.75.

Mr. Beukma, by computing one and one-half times his estimate of the cost of the ingredients, and adding to this a compounding fee of 55 cents and a charge of ten cents for the container, arrives at $2.10 as the proper charge. He says, however, that a price of $1.75 is quite reasonable. George H. Benton, of Denver, Colo., using a somewhat similar method of computation, announces that he also considers $2.10 to be about right.

Mr. Bodemann states that he would get $2.25 for the mixture. Mr. Bosworth, figuring according to the schedule that has been advocated from time to time in the BULLETIN (double the cost of the material, plus a dollar an hour for time consumed in compounding),

BOARD QUESTIONS ANSWERED

A NEW YORK EXAMINATION. (Continued from the August BULLETIN.)

18. Name the three chief classes of incompatibilities.

(a) Chemical, (b) pharmaceutical, (c) therapeutic.

19. Name three suppository vehicles. (a) Oil of theobroma, (b) glycerinated gelatin, (c) sodium stearate.

20. Which vehicle is used in the official glycerin suppository?

Sodium stearate.

PHARMACEUTICAL CHEMISTRY.

1. Why is diluted alcohol prescribed by the Pharmacopoeia as the menstruum in the preparation of some tinctures and pure alcohol prescribed in the preparation of others?

The drugs used in the preparation of some tinctures will best give up their principles to pure alcohol, as, for example, ginger and benzoin. If diluted alcohol was to be used the full strength of the desired ingredients would not be obtained, or a clear solution would not always result, or the addition of the water might precipitate some of the active constituents. Pure alcohol is also used sometimes because, if the diluted product was to be employed, the resultant preparation would not contain sufficient alcohol to act as a preservative.

Diluted alcohol is used because it lessens the cost of the preparations; because in some cases it acts as a better solvent than the pure article; because tinctures made with hydroalcoholic menstruums are more readily miscible with aqueous liquids. Many tinctures formerly made with alcohol exclusively are now found equally efficient and permanent when made with a mixture of alcohol and water.

2. From what preparation of ipecac is syrup of ipecac prepared?

From fluidextract of ipecac.

3. For what purpose is acetic acid used in syrup of ipecac?

Because the acid acts to bring the active principles of ipecac into a permanent solution

as acetates.

4. From what source is acetic acid obtained? Although this acid can be produced by oxi

dation of weak alcoholic liquids, it is obtained for the trade indirectly from wood. Formerly much acetic acid was obtained from the destructive distillation of oak-wood. Many manufacturers now procure acetic acid in the form of calcium acetate from charcoal burners and by subsequent treatment of the acetate obtain purified acetic acid.

5. Is acetic acid an organic or an inorganic acid?

An organic acid.

6. What are oleoresins and how do they differ from oleates?

Oleoresins are liquid preparations consisting chiefly of fixed or volatile oils associated with resin and other constituents. As a general rule they are extracted from vegetable substances by percolation with acetone.

Oleates are liquid preparations made by dissolving metallic salts, or alkaloids, in oleic acid. Oleates when medicinally employed are usually mixtures of oleates with oleic acid or some other diluent.

7. What two salts of potash are used in ointment of potassium iodide?

Potassium iodide and potassium carbonate. 8. Why should ointment of potassium iodide be made extemporaneously?

Because iodine is likely to be liberated from the potassium iodide if the preparation is allowed to stand for some length of time, particularly if the lard used tends to rancidity.

9. Why are alcohol and boiling water used in the manufacture of infusion of digitalis?

Alcohol is used so that the preparation may be kept for several days without spoiling. Boiling water extracts the desired principles of the digitalis more effectively and in less time than would cold water.

10. Why are cold water and glycerin used in making infusion of wild cherry?

Cold water is used because hot water prevents the reaction desired between certain principles of the bark. The glycerin improves the taste of the infusion somewhat, and acts, in a slight measure, as a preservative.

11. What part of the shrub is used in the manufacture of aqua hamamelidis?

The bark and twigs of hamamelis virginiana, Linné.

12. For what purpose is alcohol used in the finished product of aqua hamamelidis?

As a preservative.

13. How is lime-water prepared?

Slake 12 grammes of lime by the very grad

ual addition of 400 Cc. of distilled water and agitate occasionally during half an hour. Allow the suspended particles to subside, decant the supernatant liquid and reject it. Then add to the residue 3600 Cc. of distilled water, agitate thoroughly, let the mixture stand for 24 hours, agitate again, then let the coarser particles of solid matter subside, and pour the liquid, holding the undissolved calcium hydroxide in suspension, into a glass-stoppered bottle.

14. Why cannot the undissolved lime be used indefinitely?

Because the lime gradually takes up carbon dioxide from the air and is converted into calcium carbonate.

15. For what purpose is sodium borate used in ointment of rose water?

Borax is used to form a soap with the free cerotic acid in the beeswax, which soap acts as emulsifying agent for the remainder of the ingredients, thus giving added smoothness and whiteness to the preparation.

16. Under what conditions should sodium borate be omitted in ointment of rose water? When the ointment is to have mixed with it certain chemicals, such as calomel, yellow mercuric oxide, etc., which cause discoloration and result in the formation of new compounds. 17. What are infusions?

Infusions are aqueous solutions of the soluble principles of vegetable or animal drugs, obtained by maceration or digestion in hot or cold water.

18. Why is it preferable to use distilled water in the manufacture of infusions?

Because distilled water, if properly and freshly distilled, is free from the organic and inorganic compounds, gases and volatile compounds usually present in ordinary water. 19. What is meant by destructive distillation?

The process of heating dry vegetable or animal matter in suitable closed vessels, until decomposition takes place, the volatile products being expelled and a fixed residue remaining. 20. Name one U. S. P. compound resulting from destructive distillation.

Acetic acid.

21. (a) Name two U. S. P. preparations containing mercury in the metallic form. (b) State the basis of each preparation.

(a) Mercurial ointment and blue ointment. (b) The basis of mercurial ointment is pre

pared suet and benzoinated lard. The basis. of blue ointment is petrolatum.

22. Define the term incompatibility. Incompatibility is the term applied to the antagonism or disability of harmonious coexistence, which is exhibited by numerous substances when brought into contact with certain other substances.

23. Give an example of incompatibility. Potassium permanganate is incompatible with glycerin.

24. Mention the ingredients in Seidlitz powder.

Sodium bicarbonate, potassium and sodium. tartrate, tartaric acid.

25. What gas is set free when Seidlitz powders are mixed with water?

Carbon dioxide gas.

26. State the method for making a 25-percent emulsion of cod-liver oil.

To make 1000 Cc. of a 25-per-cent emulsion of cod-liver oil, rub 62.5 grammes of powdered acacia with 250 Cc. of cod-liver oil in a dry mortar until uniformly mixed, then add at once 125 Cc. of water and triturate lightly and rapidly until a thick, homogeneous emulsion is produced; to this add 2 Cc. of oil of gaultheria (or other suitable flavoring) and 50 Cc. of syrup, with enough water to make the product measure 1000 Cc., and mix thoroughly.

27. Is emulsion of cod-liver oil a chemical or a mechanical mixture?

LETTERS

This is where our readers exchange opinions and practical suggestions with one another. The Editors are always glad to receive short letters on subjects of mutual interest.

GOING DIRECT TO THE PUBLIC. To the Editors:

In common with a number of other stores, we suffer very much from the dispensing

doctor evil.

We have two dispensing physicians in this town. We have talked the matter over with them, and in a number of ways have tried to interest them in our store and in the idea of prescribing. But all to no end. They keep right on supplying their patients with medicine even with goggles, salts and fountain syringes.

In a general way we have advertised directly to the people, exploiting our ability to fill prescriptions properly; and what few prescriptions we have received from outside we have filled at remarkably good prices; that is, fair prices. We have made no headway.

Now we've grown tired of all this, and have gotten up a series of small advertisements, or "reading notices," which we propose to run in the local paper. Here is the first one:

DON'T MAKE A MERCHANT OF YOUR
PHYSICIAN.

Don't expect your doctor to handle drugs and medicines; you ask him to go outside of his profession when you require such things of him. The physician devotes years of study to the diagnosing and treatment of disease. The druggist's education comprises the manufacture and compounding of medicines for use by physicians. The majority of doctors do not furnish medicines to their patients. There is at least one reliable druggist in every town-he is better able to supply you with drugs and druggists' sundries, and at better prices. Have your prescriptions filled by some reliable druggist, and go to him when in need of anything in medicines, sick-room supplies, hot-water bottles, etc.

Our idea is to make these advertisements a series of little talks, in an attempt to educate the people. The ads. will not carry our name at all, and will be changed once a month. From time to time we shall have copies of them run off in the form of enclosure slips and small handbills, which will be distributed throughout the county.

We shall tell the people about our business,

and tell them the difference between a dispensing physician and a prescribing one.

Now what we would like to know is this: 1. Do you consider the plan worth while, and do you know of its having been tried before?

2. Do you consider the advertisement submitted good enough for a starter, and good enough for the plan in general?

We would like very much to hear from the readers of the BULLETIN in this particular. It may be that others have tried to do something along this line in a similar way, and an outline of their experiences would be of assistance W. H. RALEIGH & Co.

to us.

Garden Grove, Iowa.

[We shall be glad to publish communications which this letter may bring forth. Has any druggist tried a similar plan? Let us hear about it.-THE EDITORS.]

TOOTH PASTE FORMULA.

To the Editors:

Owing to our friendly patronage of foreign manufacturers in buying from them many drug and toilet articles that we could have. made for ourselves, accepting their statements without examination or without question as to the superiority of their formulas and output, we in America have been lulled to sleep in many instances by the extravagant claims made for their preparations.

Among the toilet articles that have been exploited in the last few years, one, a tooth preparation made according to a prescription claimed to have been originated by a wellknown German authority, has grown into great favor. In quantity lots it costs druggists in the neighborhood of 35 cents a tube.

We are using a formula that produces a tooth paste which, compared with the imported article, will be found to be practically identical. The cost of the paste made according to the following formula is less than one-fourth of the price charged for the foreign product: 12 pounds. Powdered chlorate of potash....29 pounds. Powdered sugar......4 pounds 10 ounces. White mineral oil.

Precipitated chalk..

Oil of peppermint.
Glycerin
Water

.2 fluidounces. .8 fluid ounces. .41⁄2 pints.

.3 pints. Pour the water into mixer, gradually add the chlorate of potash, and mix well. Then add the powdered sugar and white mineral oil, and after mixing

formulas looked solely to the fact that the compounds were such that they could not be used for beverages. No consideration was given to the cost of making the products.

I would like to suggest that a mixture of equal parts of witch-hazel and alcohol not only makes an efficient rubbing fluid but also allows a good profit to the retailer. The Treasury Department has advised me that such a combination is permissible.

The mixture I suggest has a vile taste, accomplishes the desired purpose, and, what is more to the point, it is entirely harmless.

Allowing $3.00 for the cost of a gallon of alcohol, and $1.00 for a gallon of witch-hazel, two gallons of the mixture can be made at a total cost of $4.00. When sold for 50 cents a pint the two gallons return $8.00.

The alcohol content must, of course, be stated on the label. R. P. DANIEL.

TO PREVENT COMPOUNDING ERRORS. To the Editors:

Despite all efforts to the contrary, errors in prescription compounding sometimes occur, occasionally causing the death of the patient. or giving the druggist undesirable notoriety.

Here in the east, within a comparatively short time, two such cases have been given considerable publicity. One was occasioned by a clerk dispensing Lysol when Laxol was prescribed. The other was due to a prescription for barium sulphate being interpreted as one for barium sulphide.

I think I have found a way for preventing a large number of such mistakes.

I suggest that prescription blanks for physicians' use be printed with blue or black ink when the mixtures are intended for internal remedies, and with red ink when designed for external use.

I do not say that such a scheme would stop all errors, but I do insist that by its adoption a large percentage of them would be done away with.

Had the physician written Laxol on a blank printed with blue ink the clerk would never have dispensed Lysol, which is a preparation for external use only. Barium sulphide, a depilatory, would never have been put out for barium sulphate.

I would like very much to have expressions of opinion from BULLETIN readers on this subject. DAVID K. GRITZ, Ph.G.