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Until recently chain stores were confined chiefly to a number of large cities and did not endanger the business of druggists in the smaller cities and country towns. But now the multiplication of numerous chains in all sections of the United States casts a shadow that is likely to mean trouble. A chain store may be established in your own neighborhood any day!

This competition is unquestionably very formidable; and the best and only way to meet. it and survive is to borrow chain-store metheds. They must be met on their own ground.

One essential, of course, is service; service

that is not only as good as that of the chain stores, but better. That is where we have an advantage.

It won't do to wait until we are surrounded. We should line up with the preparedness movement, at least in this respect. Delay may spell failure. JOSEPH W. PASTOR.

Philadelphia, Pa.

DEVELOPING BUSINESS DURING VACATION.

To the Editors:

Every time I take a vacation I make it a practice to devote all the time I can spare conveniently to observing how other druggists conduct their stores. I have found that I can get equally valuable information from either the small village store or the large city establish

ment.

In every city or town I visit I make it a point to go into convenient stores, introduce myself to the proprietors or managers, and start discussions on business affairs. In this way I gain many pointers that can be used to advantage in the conduct of my own business.

I always look over each store carefully, noting the stock arrangement, the new lines of merchandise featured, and the manner in which the inside displays are placed.

Window displays come in for particularly exacting notice. I carry a small note-book with me and jot down details of the general arrangements, the kinds of goods shown, and any other noteworthy points. Attractive or catchy show-cards I copy verbatim.

My inspection is not confined to drug-store windows alone, however, but takes in every window, no matter of what nature, that appears interesting. Some of the best-pulling and most attractive displays I have ever used were patterned after ideas gained from studies of windows in department stores. Such large establishments usually employ experienced decorators and their suggestions are invariably good ones.

Visiting drug stores and fraternizing with the owners is always a source of profitable pleasure to me. The trips refresh me in mind and body and furnish me with much material and many live suggestions which, when properly applied to my own business, always show gratifying results.

And even if my vacations were not produc

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MARKING SPONGES.

To the Editors:

How to mark the cost and selling prices on sponges so that the tag would not come detached has always been a never-settled question with us. We have lately, however. adopted a simple scheme that is giving good satisfaction.

It consists of attaching a piece of adhesive plaster to each sponge-and once attached the tag sticks until the article is sold.

We are also using the plaster method for marking ebony goods, rubber combs, and similar articles. The advantage of the plan is that although such a marker will stick indefinitely. it will easily peel off when the comb or brush is sold without leaving a disfiguring mark. Bowmanville, Ontario. JURY & LOVELL

THE BLOCK SYSTEM.

To the Editors:

After seeing the show-cards made by fellow druggists in a number of the issues of the BULLETIN, it made me think that a great amount of practice was required to bring them up to such a point of perfection.

My own show-cards are all made with the block system of lettering.

The principle of this system is to have the letters and numbers five spaces high by three wide, except in the case of "I," "M" and "W."

The style of the letters may be varied by having the spaces wider or narrower. Letters may also be shaded.

I use a good quality of white cardboard and jet-black India ink, but colored ink may be used with perhaps better results.

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EVERETT W. BASS.

BUSINESS HINTS

Business Letter-writing.

A clean-cut letter, brief and to the point-a letter that goes directly into a proposition and then stops— that letter denotes a business man, says a writer in The Goodrich, the house organ of the Goodrich Rubber Company. No one who writes in that way could tolerate cobwebs in the corners, or mussy show-cases.

There isn't a man engaged in business to-day who can afford to send to his customers letters that contain misspelled words or poor grammar. It is poor economy to try to save in a matter so important. Here are the things you should put into every letter:

First: A correct address in full at the left-hand side of the page.

Second: A salutation. When addressing a man, it should read "Dear Sir." When addressing a company, the salutation should be "Dear Sirs." When addressing a woman, it should be, "Dear Madam."

Third: Don't use stereotyped, worn-out openings. Try to put your personality into the letter-write as though you were talking.

Remember that things that are written never sound as they do when spoken. For that reason, choose your words carefully. If you are tempted to be sarcastic, lay aside the letter for a day.

These may sound like trifles, but they make the difference between good and poor letter-writing. Always refer to the date of your correspondent's letter, so that he may locate readily in his files the matter to which you refer.

Try to cover every detail involved in every letter, so that there may be no misunderstanding. It is very easy to omit those things which may appear perfectly obvious to you, but concerning which your correspondent is confused. Try to put yourself in your correspondent's place and tell him the things you would want to hear.

Fourth: When you have come to the end of your letter, stop! The simpler the ending the better. The words, "Yours truly," "Yours very truly" and "Very cordially yours," are commonly used.

Strict adherence to these simple rules and scrupulous care that every letter is neat and well arranged on the sheet may make a difference of hundreds of dollars in your business during the course of a year.

If any of your employees are also writing letters, be equally insistent with them. Remember that your letter represents your store to the man who receives it-it is your personal representative.

Planning a Christmas Candy Sale.

Here is the outline of a successful candy-selling plan, described by Edward Mott Woolley in the Associated Sunday Magazines, which should be given consideration now if it is desired to put a similar plan in operation this year:

A small neighborhood confectioner in a large eastern city did more business last winter than in five previous

winters put together, and he did it simply through a stroke of initiative so simple that he marvels at his long lethargy.

"In previous years," he told me, "I simply waited for people to come in and buy their Christmas candywhich for the most part they did not do. They went to the bigger down-town stores and bought tons and tons of it, going right past my store, many of them, on the way.

"This last Christmas season I resolved to get some of that trade. Now I knew that every family in my neighborhood would buy Christmas candies. There was no question about the market. Weeks before Christmas I put up some samples and sent two girls out with them to canvass for orders. I offered not only the goods, but the service, guaranteeing to deliver the candies in time for Christmas and save the customer all the time and annoyance of the usual final rush for these goods just before the great day.

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During the season of the year when coughs and colds are particularly prevalent, Arthur G. Tracey, of Hampstead, Maryland, sends the following typewritten letter to heads of families in which there are children: DEAR MR. SMITH:

Since there are so many brands of cough syrup offered to the public, one carnot be too careful in picking the kind best suited to his children.

"Tracey's Brown Cough Mixture" is made of several valu able ingredients, so proportioned as to produce the best results. The preparation contains no habit-forming drugs; the small amount of alcohol present is there to hold the various ingredients in permanent solution and to preserve the medicine, keeping it in an unchanged condition.

It is prepared in a sanitary manner and the bottles are made air-tight immediately after filling. My personal supervision over the manufacture of each lot that is marketed insures its uniformity and dependability.

The fact that the preparation has been on the market for several years. with the sales in this community increasing by great strides, is sufficient testimonial of its merits.

If you have never tried "Tracey's Brown Cough Mixture," either for your children or for yourself, try a bottle now; if you are not satisfied with the results, I will glad'y return your money. Yours very truly,

ARTHUR G. TRACEY. Each letter is filled in with the name and address of the person to whom it is sent and is signed in person by Mr. Tracey.

Thrift in Smoke.

Smoke prevention often has a greater value than the esthetic or a mere saving in fuel. By applying the electrical treatment of smoke to the flues of a sulphuric acid plant, 2 gallons of acid per minute was recovered that would otherwise have been wasted. In a copper works several tons of lead per day was saved by this method, and similar results have been obtained in the treatment of smoke and gases from lead blast furnaces, brass works, etc. In the manufacture of Portland cement a ton or more potassium sulphate per day has been recovered.

PRACTICAL PHARMACY

An Improved Formula for Cholera Mixture.—

In a paper read before the 1916 meeting of the New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association, Otto Raubenheimer, Phar.D., had the following to say:

The sale of diarrhea mixtures or so-called "Cholera Drops" has become a necessity, especially during the summer months. For this reason the National Formulary, one of our legal standards according to the Pure Food and Drugs Act and various State laws, provides five different formulas, two of which, Squibb's Diarrhea Mixture and Sun Cholera Mixture, will be retained in the 4th edition of the N. F.

The "Sun Mixture" is without doubt the most important. However, owing to its high opium content, namely 20 volume per cent of tincture of opium, it cannot be sold to the public without a physician's prescription, according to the Federal as well as the State laws.

Various suggestions have been made in order that cholera mixture might be sold to the suffering public. Among the suggestions advanced are the following:

1. To reduce the quantity of tincture of opium, so that one fluidounce contains not more than two grains of opium or one-fourth of a grain of morphine.

2. To replace the 20 per cent of tincture of opium by such astringents as tincture of cinnamon or kino or gambir.

My own suggestion is to modify the formula in such a way that it contains 50 per cent of paregoric. Here is my formula:

IMPROVED SUN CHOLERA MIXTURE.

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Camphorated tincture of opium.....5 volumes. Dose: 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls in a wineglass of water as required.

I advocate the use of paregoric because, from per sonal experience, I am convinced of its beneficial action

in cramps, pains, and diarrhea. Elixir Paregoricum has most certainly stood the test of time, both as a household remedy and as a pharmacopœial preparation, having been originated about 1700 by Dr. LeMort, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Leyden, Holland.

"Improved Cholera Drops," made according to the foregoing formula, contain merely a trace of opium, namely 0.2 per cent (0.02 per cent of anhydrous morphine). It seems hardly possible that the opium "habit" could be contracted from this mixture, as its taste is not any too inviting.

I have sold "Improved Cholera Drops" for over a year with perfect satisfaction to my customers.

Darkening of Resorcin Ointment.

Resorcin is very susceptible to the action of light, says Pharmacal Notes, of London, and its avidity to absorb oxygen from the air causes it to change from a nearly colorless state to that of a rose or dark-brown shade. When the chemical structure of resorcin is taken into consideration, this susceptibility to the action of

light and the atmosphere is not to be greatly wondered at. Resorcin is a diatomic phenol and is largely used in preparing artificial dyes. Two isomerides are pyrocatechin and hydroquinone, both of which are employed as developers in photography, and both undergo color changes when exposed to the light. No practical method has been suggested that will effectually prevent the color change likely to occur in resorcin ointment, and the best precaution is to preserve the containers protected from the light.

Prescription Pricing Comments.—

On page 338 of the August BULLETIN there was published a communication from H. G. Davis, of Athens, Ala., in which he requested that readers tell what price they would charge for the following prescription :

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R. C. Strode, of Philadelphia, says that ordinarily he believes in getting an approximate profit of 100 per cent on every prescription he dispenses, but in this case, owing to the high cost of the fluidextract of hydrastis, he would cut down the profit slightly. Mr. Strode figures the cost of the hydrastis as 60 cents, that of the viburnum as 8 cents, and that of the ergot as 17 cents, and says that he thinks a price of $1.50 would be the right one to charge.

J. R. Tiffany, of Herkimer, N. Y., says that in order to be repaid for the cost of the ingredients and container used, to collect pay for the time consumed in compounding, to be recompensed for the cost of doing business, and to make a net profit of 50 per cent, the druggist should command a price of at least $1.90.

According to A. J. Delahoussaye, Franklin, La., a charge to the patient of $1.75 for the prescription would be the proper figure.

Several other replies received all give $1.50 as the price to charge-in spite of the fact that such a sum does not represent twice the cost of the ingredients used, and leaves nothing at all as payment for the time consumed in compounding.

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QUERIES

Information is given in this department under the following conditions only: (1) No queries are answered by mail; (2) queries must reach us before the 15th of the month to be answered in the BULLETIN of the month following: (3) inquirers must in every instance be regular subscribers; and (4) names and addresses must be affixed to all communications.

Anti-freeze Mixture for Automobiles.

D. A. S. asks: "What chemicals or compounds do you consider best for use as anti-freeze mixtures for automobiles?"

There are several chemical preparations intended for use in automobile radiators, but we hardly care to recommend them, as their continued use sometimes causes injury to the metal parts of the radiator or to the rubber connections.

Wood alcohol has been greatly favored for this line of work. In the presence of heat and oxygen, however, wood alcohol has a slight tendency to form formic acid, which might in time corrode the parts. It boils at a lower temperature than denatured alcohol, and consequently less of the latter is required, and as the tendency to evaporate is materially reduced, denatured alcohol is much cheaper to use for the purpose.

Alcohol (denatured) has absolutely no corrosive action on any of the metals with which it comes in contact, and its ability to withstand cold is indicated by the fact that it freezes at about -160° F. Its composition is necessarily uniform, because it is manufactured in accordance with a formula prescribed by and under the supervision of government chemists. It contains no solid matter, thus making it unnecessary to filter before using and eliminating all danger of its clogging the radiator.

20-per-cent solution freezes at about 10° above zero. 30-per-cent solution freezes at about 5° below zero. 40-per-cent solution freezes at about 20° below zero. 50-per-cent solution freezes at about 35° below zero. In solutions above 40 per cent in strength, however, the alcohol evaporates too readily to make a really practical mixture. In mild weather, too, this mixture boils very quickly.

The radiator should be carefully cleaned out before filling with the alcohol solution, and not filled too full, to allow for expansion when heated. If the car is out of use for more than a few days at a time, it is better to empty the radiator while warm and let it drain dry, taking care, however, to refill it before starting up the engine.

Bay Leaves in Bay Rum.

A. B. writes: "I would like a formula for bay rum in which bay leaves are used."

Originally bay rum was made by distilling bay leaves with rum, and was obtained from different West India islands where the bayberry tree is indigenous. Now,

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A Mineral Oil Cold Cream.

A. B. writes: "Please publish a formula for a cold cream containing mineral oil."

The following is borrowed from our book entitled "350 Dollar Ideas for Druggists," and was originally contributed to the BULLETIN by H. B. Molyneaux, of Omaha, Nebraska. To quote from his article:

For many years I sought in every book of formulas, in every pharmaceutical journal I could get my hands on, for a formula that would excel in a cold cream. I failed to find one that would come up to the standard I had set, or rather the quality my customers demanded. The cold cream I sought must be smooth, white, and elegant in appearance. It must not become rancid and must retain the same consistency in winter and summer. Eureka! Some one said that "Necessity is the mother of invention," and it is aptly applied in this instance. The formula is simple but elegant. Here it is:

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Mix the paraffin and wax at the lowest possible temperature, and then add the mineral oil. If this addition causes the wax to congeal, continue the heat, while stirring sufficiently to remeit the mass. Now add the sodium perborate to the water and slightly warm the solution. Then add this to the wax solution in a continuous stream as large as a finger; at the same time briskly beat the emulsion with a wooden paddle until it becomes smooth. While the mass is in a semifluid state, incorporate the perfume. Then run the cream into the containers.

Pouring the cream into the jars while in the melted state gives the surface a glossy, satin finish on cooling. Don't fill the containers so full that the covers come in contact with the top of the cream.

For a satisfactory perfume Mr. Molyneaux suggests that oil of rose or a synthetic violet like "irol synfleur" be used.

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