had found the doctor and he was there when I arrived.

After a time the child was quieted. The father acknowledged his mistake in calling for the wrong kind of medicine, and I returned to my work with a keener realization of my responsibility.

Several days after this the doctor came to me and said that he wanted me to be more careful, and that he would take part of the advice to himself, promising never again to send after medicine without writing down the name. He said that the application of carbolic acid had cured the eczema, but added that the cure had been very painful!

After four years of steady work as an apprentice, putting in from twelve to fifteen hours each day, at a small salary, I managed to borrow enough money to take my college course. My finances were so scant that I studied like a Trojan, and at last came through in good order. Shortly thereafter I passed the Board.

AN APPRENTICE GOES WRONG.
BY H. O. LLOYD, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

I was away from the store at dinner one day, several years ago, when the apprentice telephoned me that he had sold some Godfrey's cordial, and thought he had taken it from the wrong bottle.

Without waiting to make explanations to the family, or even to get my hat, I made tracks for the store as fast as my legs could carry me. It was useless to ask the youth why he had sold a preparation he had no right to sell. I soon learned what he had done. He had put up solution of antimonious chloride, and I had visions of some infant having it poured down its throat, with terrible results to both the infant and myself.

Questions only elicited the fact that the customer was a young boy, and as my district is a densely populated one, it seemed hopeless for the moment to reach the purchaser before the mischief was done.

It was, however, within ten minutes of the afternoon school session, and I guessed the boy would be going to school. So I wrote three notes, and despatched messengers bearing them to the three nearest schools in the district, asking the head masters to inquire if any boy had purchased Godfrey's cordial from us; if so, to send the boy home to tell his parents not to use the medicine, but to bring it back to the store.

Within thirty minutes the mother of the boy was in the shop. The boy had been found in the first school. Fortunately, too, the mother had purchased Godfrey's cordial before, and she had noticed right away that what she had got in her bottle was not like that she had got before; so she hadn't given any.

By exercising a little diplomacy a satisfactory explanation was given, and the heads of both the apprentice and myself were again normal, the former, I hope, learning a lesson he will never forget.

Since then I have kept all scheduled poisons. in locked cupboards.

MIXING THE BOTTLES.

BY W. K. HENDERSON.

I was about 16 years old at the time the incident I am about to relate happened, and working as an apprentice for Dr. ——, a druggist in Washington, D. C., serving soda, and waiting on the general drug trade a little, also. One night about 9 o'clock a gentleman came in with a prescription, and handed it to the druggist to be filled, saying he would wait for it. The prescription called for one ounce of Fowler's solution, to be taken in drop doses.

About the same time a colored woman came in, and I not being busy went to wait on her. She handed me an ounce bottle to be filled with Squibb's mixture, stating that she wanted it for her husband, who had eaten something and was suffering from pains in the stomach.

I filled the bottle and stood it on the prescription counter, leaving it while I got a label. The druggist filled the prescription, and stood it near the bottle containing the mixture, while he wrote the directions.

Getting my label, I picked up the bottle which I thought contained the Squibb's mixture, both bottles being the same size and the liquids about the same color. I labeled the Fowler's solution with the Squibb's mixture label, handed it to the customer, and she left the store.

The druggist, having written the directions for the prescription, went to label that and, picking up the other bottle, from habit smelled it, and noticed the mistake.

I got scared, right away. The druggist told me to catch that colored woman and get the bottle from her before she had a chance to give "her man" a dose out of it, adding that there'd be trouble brewing if I didn't.

and without offering any explanation I started on a run for a doctor. While running I drew the cork from the bottle and scattered the contents along the street; and at the first sewer opening I passed I threw the empty bottle into it, thinking to get rid of everything.

Getting a doctor, we hurried back and found the man in much pain. With a stomach pump we succeeded in relieving him.

My, but I was frightened! And I certainly did feel better when the doctor told me the man would get all right.

I then explained the mistake to the man's wife, told her how sorry I was, and offered to do anything I could for her. She was so glad her husband was out of danger that she said, "Everything is all right."

This little experience certainly taught me a lesson. And it shows how easily a serious mistake can be made.

How Many Grains of Corn Will Jim Eat?

If you think you know something of a rooster's appetite try to guess how many kernels Jim will eat next week. Next Monday we will open the gate and let him start on the corn in the pail. We have counted the kernels. At 5 o'clock Saturday, May 16, we will take him away and count the remaining kernels. Make your guess at any time before noon of that Saturday. To the man guessing the nearest we will give a box of cigars; to the woman who makes the best guess, a box of candy. A prize will also be given to the best guesser among the boys; another to the best guesser among the girls. There is no charge for registering your guess.

As the rooster's enclosure was low, the space on top made a fine base for the display of the

By CHARLES A. GODDARD poultry and stock preparations. The contest caused a great deal of speculating. It is said that the farmers made tests for themselves.

HUMOROUS SHOW-CARDS.

"You'd be surprised to notice how many folks will stop and ‘have a smile on you' if you place a humorous show-card in your window once in a while," a druggist said recently. "Such signs help to catch the eye of pedestrians, and people get into the habit of stopping to see what you have. Here's one that caused much laughter and talk: If You Don't Use Our Soap, For Goodness Sake Use Our Perfumes."

A certain druggist's strongest competitor gave trading stamps to purchasers. The druggist placed this card in his window: Here's the Kind of Trading Stamps-Redeemable Anywhere-That We Give You. You Save Them By Buying At This Store. Around the edge of the card were attached new one-dollar bills.

Another card that a druggist displayed frequently read: Of Course If You Wish to Pay High Prices We Can't Stop You-But You Can't Do It in This Store.

THE FAMILY ORDER-PAD.

A Middle West drug store uses a "family order-pad" to get the big share of the purchases made by the family. This has a string to be used in hanging the pad in a handy place. Here is the offer that makes the plan so successful:

Hang This Pad In a Handy Place. As you think of them, jot down the items you need from our store Send your child with the order, if you are too busy to come yourself; your child will be given as prompt and as careful attention as you would receive were you here in person. With the goods we'll send back your orderslip. Save these slips. When your child has 25 of them we'll present the child with a box of candy.

SOUVENIR SPOONS IN PACKAGE CANDY.

Using souvenir spoons as the basis for a prize offer, one druggist sold a windowful of candy in short order. In twelve boxes of candy he placed souvenir spoons. The boxes were mixed in with the others in the window. and this card placed before the display:

Regular 60-cent Candy-48 Cents a Box. Also a souvenir spoon to each of twelve purchasers Free.

In 12 of these boxes are souvenir spoons. Select the box you wish and get 60 cents' worth of candy for 48 cents. And get a chance to win a souvenir spoon.

A SENTENCE-FORMING INDUCEMENT.

And here is another one. A druggist had printed several hundred paper strips about two by twenty inches. The strips read: Cook's Drug Store Saves You Money And Sells Pure Drugs.

Then he had the printer cut out the strips so that there was one word to a strip. He threw away all but a dozen of the slips bearing the word "Money." The remaining slips were enclosed, with a circular advertising some of his articles, in cheap, manilla envelopes. When sealed the envelopes were shuffled and one envelope wrapped with each package leaving the store. The face of the envelope was printed to explain the offer. The announcement read as follows:

One Dollar For a Sentence!

In this envelope is a slip of paper bearing a word from the sentence, "Cook's Drug Store Saves You Money and Sells Pure Drugs." Save this slip and others that you get with your purchases at this store. When you have slips to make the complete sentence as above, bring them in and we will give you $1.

One druggist uses a thermometer to call attention to his fountain. He drained the mercury out of an old, large advertising thermom

The line "It will seem like" was in very small letters, and the "10 Miles to Town" very large. The second line was all that could be read at a distance. People took the hint.

Saying a thing in a new way often helps. A drug-store window trimmer was asked to get up a window for a new brand of five-cent cigars. He used all the lithographed material that the jobber had furnished and added a card of his own.

His card had six cigars mounted on it perpendicularly; the margin of space between the fifth and sixth cigars was considerably greater than between the others. Above the first five was this lettering: "Smoke these five for 25 cents." Then above the sixth cigar was this line: "This One Free." A new way of offering six for a quarter.

Most stores make it a point to say "Thank you" at the time the package is handed the patron. One store also says it after the package reaches the home. This store puts in each package a neatly printed slip reading:

THANK YOU!

for making this purchase of us. We appreciate your patronage and hope to merit each purchase you make at this store. We also wish you to tell us at any time of any cause for dissatisfaction you may have with our goods or our service-we aim to give you the best in each. Come in and see us again.

ADVERTISING

MY DRUG BUSINESS

The town of Hampstead has a population of about one thousand, and is surrounded by a farming community; and scattered through this rural district are many small villages, none of which has a drug store.

The local newspaper, issued weekly, reaches a majority of the residents of the neighborhood, and its coming is looked forward to by many of its subscribers.

My advertisement appeared in every issue of this paper for several years, the style of the ad being changed nearly every week. Sometimes it appeared sidewise, and even at times upside down-this being done in order to draw special attention to it. The size of this ad was usually two columns wide and six inches long. Sometimes a coupon would appear, being good for ten per cent of any cash purchase up to and including a fixed date.

This kind of advertising got some responses, but in proportion to the cost the results were not entierly satisfactory to me.

Next I dropped this, and scattered small statements, or "readers," throughout the pages of the paper, such as "Tracey's Korn Knocker knocks corns for ten cents;" "Our Kidney Pill will fill the bill;" "There's no dope in Tracey's Brown Cough Mixture,” and many others of similar nature. This proved to be very much more satisfactory, as the cost was less and the results more gratifying; it also generated a greater demand for my own make of goods. Still I felt that better results could be had if a more personal kind of advertising was carried out.

Then I started sending out circular letters, having obtained the names of the people and shaped up an excellent mailing list. Every month I had little stories printed about some of my preparations, and offered special prices on certain pieces of goods for a limited length of time. This met with a fairly good response, but did not get as large a proportion of the people interested as I wanted.

By ARTHUR G. TRACEY,
Hampstead, Maryland

amount of expense into newspaper space, I ran exactly the same ad in the paper that I sent out in the circular letters, and mailed the circulars so that they would reach the people at the same time that the paper would reach them. The ad at this time was in the form of a coupon to be signed and returned in order to get the benefit of the reduced price offered-which, by the way, was an exceptionally good offer this time. I wanted the greatest possible returns in each case, and after trying this experiment three times, the comparative results were two to one in favor of the circular letters.

But in neither case was the percentage of response as great as I felt it should be.

The idea now came to me that if circular letters were good, then first-class letters ought to be better, as I knew that many people do not even look at a piece of mail when they know it is an advertisement. So I started sending out personal letters under a two-cent stamp.

This necessitated more than twice the expense in order to reach the same number of people, but it surely does pay well for the added expense.

A PERSONAL LETTER.

Now I send out, once a month, a personal letter, gotten up just as if I had the man in my store and was talking to him as a personal friend. I tell just how it is to his advantage to use a certain article, and why it is most economical to buy that piece of goods of me.

I guarantee everything that I sell, and very cordially return the money to any one who requests it. I do not lose anything by this, as a refund is seldom called for; and when it is I generally make a friend where a lot of harm might be done if I did not return the money. People surely do talk, and if what they say is not good it will be bad.

Another thing. I deliver goods free by parcel post, and advertise that fact strongly when the roads are at their worst. Consequently during rough weather my phone is the busiest machine about the place.

With each letter that I send out there is a neatly gotten-up card offering a good discount

on a certain article to the party who returns the card. This gets rid of a lot of old stock. It keeps a check on who is reading our letters, also.

Another advantage of first-class letters is that they are delivered or returned, and I know that every letter reaches its destination -or that it doesn't. A circular gets thrown out of the mail if it is wrongly addressed or if the party has moved away. My system keeps my mailing list always approximately right.

I have a form letter which I send to every one coming into the neighborhood. This, in

my opinion, is the kind of advertising that gets the most good out of a dollar spent. The cost is not great.

I have my letters printed with type exactly like the kind on my typewriter, and have the same colored ink used. This can be worked out in such a manner that it is hard to tell that it is not all done on a typewriter. I sign each letter in my own handwriting.

Nothing is done that looks cheap, and everything has to be just so. I have tried using duplicating machines, but do not like them. The very best isn't too good.

MAKING A

By R. R. FEAGANS

glance is quite enough, it would seem. The end pieces measure 31⁄2 by 14 inches by 3 feet. These upright timbers, set into appropriate foot-pieces, are mortised and held by screws.

Underneath the top extends a half-inch gaspipe, fitting between two pieces, the latter being marked, in Fig. 2, thus: % inch by 4 inches. The gas-pipe does not extend through these pieces, just up to them on either side; and on each end of the pipe is a washer, to prevent cutting into the wood.

Running through the gas-pipe and extending through the two pieces marked % inch by 4 inches, and also through the two upright pieces, is a 38-inch iron rod. Washers are on each end of this rod also, and on one end there is a thumb-screw (see cut).

The table top is 30 by 30 inches. It may be adjusted to any angle and held in place by tightening the thumb-screw.

An ordinary yardstick is tacked on the lower edge of the table top, thus doing away with the use of thumb-tacks.

The measurements are, of course, optional. They may be varied to suit. If a man wants a bigger table, or a smaller one, it is surely his privilege to make it. But I have found the size described and depicted about right for

my own use.

The cost will vary, but ought not exceed three or four dollars.