don't do a good business, and don't know why. I tell you, you must make your hot drinks better and give a reasonable quantity. Do you expect a man to pay you five cents for a little mug of poor coffee when he can secure a large cup of good coffee at a restaurant for the same money? If you do you are very much mistaken. The time has come when druggists as a body must awake to the fact that they can't expect to make the same percentage of profit on hot drinks that they do on cold ones, but must be contented with a little less on the single cup and look for the profit on the increase of sales.

It has been proved beyond any question of doubt that a large list of hot drinks is not necessary to a thriving business. One of the largest dispensers of hot soda for years only ran hot chocolate, coffee, and beef tea, and just lately added clam bouillon and malted milk to his list, and most dispensers would find this quite sufficient for their use. There are some other drinks now on the market which can be handled at a profit, but they are not absolute necessities, though the demand for them is constantly on the increase.

To the small druggist who has reason to doubt the advisability of putting in hot soda and still wishes to try the experiment, I would say that a common nickel-plated copper bar urn can be purchased for $3

or less, and $3 more will buy all accessories needed outside of dispensing materials. With this outfit. you can serve as nice a soda as a man with a hundred dollars invested in apparatus if you use equally as good material.

Don't try to use cold soda syrups in the preparation of hot soda, as they are invariably too sweet and do not have sufficient flavor.

The question often comes up, should syrups be kept hot? I do not hesitate to say no; have your syrups cool, but not on the ice. Heat dries them, evaporates them, and hastens them in souring, destroys their delicate aroma, and spoils their naturally exquisite flavor. Some there are who believe syrups should be kept hot, but as a rule they would have to confess they had never tried both methods.

Whipped cream is a necessity in most places and adds much to the appearance of the drink, though it does not add anything to its quality, which should always contain sweet cream to give the flavor in all formulas where the drink is to be topped off with whipped cream.

Hot soda still needs a generous amount of real good advertising, and it is to be hoped that the public can be induced to try a cup and find out how really good it is.-Condensed from an article by E. W. WHITE in the Spatula.

A SIMPLE METHOD OF CLASSIFYING PILLS AND TABLETS.

Even when the number of prepared tablets and pills necessary for a full stock was much smaller than it is at present, I remember I used to dread a prescription calling for this now much-ordered class of preparations. Then, in common with not only many druggists of that day, but this as well, upon receiving a bottle of tablet triturates from my jobber I would place it at any spot in the pill case which chanced to be most convenient. When a prescription came in for a particular make of one or another pill or tablet, a long search through the case would most probably ensue. Though perhaps inwardly muttering irreverant words, I would be forced to remember the old maxim "slow and sure," and patiently pull out the bottles on shelf after shelf. Many were the times that, although I knew a certain tablet or pill was in stock, after I had made what I thought to be a thorough search of the case, nothing would reward my efforts, and I would be forced to seek the bottle among its multitude of facsimiles a second or even a third time before it could be found. I am sure there are few, if any, druggists who have not been, even though they are not now, forced to experience similar tiresome searches which are irritating to not only the "man behind the counter," but

to the customer as well.

As a means of reducing to a minimum the labor entailed by the search, I have divided the shelving of my case into about thirty-five or forty small closets or pigeonholes. Beginning at the bottom I have numbered these from one up, the number of each being placed upon it in some conspicuous place. I have found the most convenient method is to paste figures cut from a large calendar upon the side of the partition which separates each pigeonhole from the one adjoining it. The number can be seen equally well as if attached to the shelf below, and this arrangement possesses the additional advantage that by it the label is, to some extent at least, protected. I next took the catalogue of a manufacturer of pills and tablets, and placed numbers, which corresponded with the numbers on the pigeonholes, in the margin opposite the name of each pill or tablet. In order to make the necessary number of pigeonholes as small as possible, I placed all makes, sizes, and compounds of any one particular tablet or pill together; but this does not render the plan any the less efficacious. When I wish to find any particular bottle in the case, the only thing which I have to do is to refer to my list, and so find the number of the pigeonhole in which it had been placed. To examine the, at most,

fifteen or twenty bottles which this compartment contains is a comparatively easy task.

Perhaps the greatest advantage which this plan possesses over all others is the complete lack of expense involved in its execution. The only material necessary for constructing the partitions is the tops and sides of cigar boxes, as pill cases are almost invariably behind the prescription desk, and consequently invisible from the front of the store. The colored boy, by utilizing his idle moments, will in a few days be able to whittle the wood to the required size and shape. The pills and tablets once classified, the only trouble will be to see that the bottles are replaced in the proper pigeonholes, and a little care being exercised in this direction, you will soon find this system indispensable.-JOSEPH T. WARE in the Southern Drug Journal.

HOW DRUG HABITS ARE FORMED.

A certain man and his wife were both habituated to the use of morphine, using it by injection. The man one day deplored the necessity of using the drug, and stated to his druggist that he would give almost any sum within his reach and reason if both himself and his wife could be cured of the habit.

Without informing him, the druggist each time thereafter reduced the amount of morphine in the solution, so that in the course of time the quantity of morphine was simply nominal. The druggist had kept a record of the amount less than what was paid for, and he handed back to the customer quite an accumulated sum of money, with the remark that now he could, if he saw fit, discontinue the use of morphine, as he had only been taking an insignificant amount for about one month. Apparently the man was gratified; said nothing of the sum of money he had declared himself willing to pay for a cure; took the money and began buying his morphine solution elsewhere, and no doubt continued the use of it while he lived!

A man engaged in a business, the bulk of which is done in a few months of the year, during which time consecutive days and nights are passed without sleep, sought the advice of a physician for insomnia induced through these conditions of work. The physician prescribed an ordinary dose of chloral, to be taken when needed. The chloral habit was soon growing on the man; he was told of his danger by the druggist, and was appreciative enough, but transferred his trade to another store. The remainder of the story is too pitiful to be told.

A young and prospering business man suffered at

intervals with acute pains of some form or other; morphine by injection afforded relief; the time between the spells lessened; the use of morphine increased. The syringe was laid aside; to morphine were added cocaine and chloroform; and when the heart became affected, the victim resorted to whiskey, and went on glorious drunks! The amount of the drugs used by this individual was something extraordinary, and accompanied with it were the occasional whiskey sprees and other irregular habits; nevertheless, he still lives, and I am told that he is cured of the affliction, after a life of this kind of more than four years.

Another reason for the acquirement of drug habits is association. I have a case in mind of a druggist (?) whose sales of cocaine, morphine, etc., amounted to more on a Saturday night and Sunday than the total receipts of an average druggist for a week. He soon became addicted himself, for no other reason than that he continually handled the drugs and dealt with those that used them!-Portions of an article presented by E. G. EBERLE at the Philadelphia meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association.

A HANDY ARRANGEMENT FOR BARREL GOODS.

An arrangement which will be useful for stores where trade compels the keeping of such stock as alcohol, witch-hazel, wines, whiskies, etc., in barrel quantities-especially when those commodities have to be stored in the basement-is as follows:

Suppose we have six barrels to be stored. Put three on the bottom row lying on their sides, slightly raised from the floor, and leave a small space between each. On top of these put a row of two, and on top of these again one more. You now have the six barrels arranged in pyramidal form; they should be blocked up so as to be solid.

Into the top of each barrel fit tightly a piece of half-inch gas-pipe, and bring these six pieces up through the floor of the room above, about six inches from the wall and a foot apart, letting them project but a few inches. Into the bottom of each barrel tightly fit another piece of quarter or threeeighths-inch pipe and bring these pieces through the floor, letting them project about two feet. The pieces from the bottom of any barrel should come through the floor against the wall, and directly back of the piece projecting from the top of the same barrel. Mount a small faucet on the top of each of the two-foot projections, which are against the wall; and on the top of the other six pieces, which should be threaded, fit a cap that can be easily unscrewed

with the fingers. A large bicycle-pump fastened to the floor and having a rubber tube long enough to reach any of the pipes, and to the end of which is attached a cap fitting the short pipes, completes the arrangement.

Assuming the barrels to be full, to draw from any one remove the cap from the pipe going to the top of that barrel, and attach the tube from the pump by means of the cap at its end. Turn the faucet of the pipe coming from the bottom of the barrel and apply the pump. The liquid flows from the faucet. When through, close the faucet, remove the pump, and replace the cap, which keeps out the dust, and which could be attached to the pipe with a small chain to prevent its being lost.

Now, when a barrel is emptied, instead of putting the new barrel into the basement-always a mean, awkward job have it rolled into the back room, raise it slightly from the floor, put a funnel into the pipe leading to the top of the barrel and siphon off

the full one.

The barrels should be set up as nearly as possible directly under the space on the floor above where the faucets are to be located. This is not, of course, absolutely necessary, but saves pumping the liquid too far. Each faucet should be labeled, the name being printed on the wall directly above the corresponding faucet. All joints must be air-tight.

This plan saves many steps and much time; and many occasions for going into the basement, which is usually dark, are avoided. The flow of the liquid be turned, avoiding the waste attendant on drawing is easily regulated by the pump, or the faucet can from a large faucet directly from the barrel. As the faucets are small, bottling can be done direct, thus saving one handling of the goods. It saves putting full barrels into the basement, and thus saves mounting them. It economizes space by allowing one

barrel to be mounted above another.-EDWARD P. HIGBY, Ph. G., in Merck's Report.

ments" named are not elements, but variously compounded of nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, and carbon, while some one else has claimed a compound nature for sulphur. What the final verdict may be it is difficult to conjecture.

It must be remembered that to the modern scientific mind the ultimate unity of matter is almost an absolute certainty, while the atomicity of chemical elements with the postulated indivisibility of atoms is latterly being questioned by some who believe the atom to consist of electrically charged particles-corpuscles-or electric charges per se, not less than one thousand of which would go to make up an elemental atom. It must also be remembered that the elements are conceived to be regularly evolved out of the primeval essence by some process of condensation, but also, by others, that they are simple combinations of the atoms of primitive matter, the first of these being hydrogen, which, theoretically, would consist of two atoms of such primitive element, these latter having received the appellation "pantogen."

While as yet there is not the slightest proof of the complex nature of the so-called elements or that the dream of the alchemists, who believed they might commute one into the other, is realizable, yet he must be a bold man who would deny the probability or possibility. Many strange developments have lately been witnessed in the domains of physical research and forces of nature unfolded that have startled the world by their wondrous attributes. Only let us recall the Hertzian waves, the cathodic, the Roentgen, and Becquerel rays, and latterly the mystifying emanations of that peculiar element termed radium. And then the physical phenomena connected with these various exhibitions of energy! Who knows what all this ultimately may lead to, and if, indeed, we are not on the eve of at least an inkling of the conception of what matter really is? These new forces may possibly assist in solving the great riddle.—Editorial from the Western Druggist.

SUGGESTIONS FOR CIGAR DEALERS.

One of the most vital considerations which command the attention of the retail cigar dealer is how to keep his stock up to the standard of excellence which it is his desire to attain. It is a well known fact that cigars, unless properly kept, rapidly deteriorate if allowed to become too dry or too moist, or if allowed to dry out at one time and become moist again when the conditions of the atmosphere

are such as to make them absorb moisture. And it is also well known that fine Havana cigars should not be kept in the same case with the coarser grades, for they take on the flavor of the ranker brands when kept in the same compartment with them. In talking with cigar men around town many points will be brought out and have been brought out as to how a smaller dealer may keep up the quality of his stock and create for himself a distinctive and profitable trade. One of the best cigar men in Chicago has made the following recommendations:

1. Keep fine cigars in cases separated from the coarser grades.

2. In summer, when the air is moist, use no water in the cases, for it is usually not necessary. In winter, when artificial heat must be used and the air is dry, keep the cigars moist by the use of open pans of water in the cases, or, better still, use the pans and set upright in them rolls of blotting paper reaching to the top of the case. Never let cigars dry out, for then they lose their flavor.

3. In selling cigars do not be afraid to make a suggestion to the customer. If you have fine goods to offer and you should have suggest to him that some time when he comes in he try such and such a brand, if you think it is the kind of a cigar that will suit his taste.

Get

4. Keep trying for a distinctive business. such a reputation for taste and discrimination as a cigar buyer by keeping your stock always in the proper condition that your customers will prefer to come blocks to trade with you rather than go to another store. In order to do this, you cannot afford to be loaded down entirely with the advertised brands. You must have room in your cases for the labels you yourself desire to push. Remember that the advertised cigars can be had in any store as a rule and are of the same quality as the same brands you sell, and that your only advantage on these goods is in knowing how to keep them in better condition than the other fellow. If your customers know you as the purveyor of a certain cigar they like they will come to you for it, and it should be your endeavor to get as much of that kind of trade as possible.

5. Make yourself acquainted with the salesmen who come into your store. Find out from them how the big cigar dealers keep their cigars fresh and in flavor, and copy their example wherever you can. Next to finding an original way of doing a thing well is to find out how some successful man did the same thing.-Condensed from an article in The Retailers' Journal.

Our cough mixture is put up in brick-red cartons, and of these a wall was built, and provision made for a fireplace. Hanging above the latter, a large frame covered with yellow sateen proffered the advice: "For your cold take Birks's Cough Mixture and keep warm." This was printed in black.

The pillars supporting the mantel-shelf were made by covering strawboard with the enameled green granite paper used by bookbinders. When wetted it is easy to roll this around empty tins and lace with needle and tape. Crimson plush was tacked around the mantel-shelf board and edged with embossed gilt strips, such as box-makers use. This came in handy to finish off the pillars too.

The good advice for winter weather was repeated across the plush mantel drape on a strip of green manila board. Feeding cups, medicine spoons, and an open and partially filled bottle of cough mixture stood together with a dose in a glass on the mantelshelf. This quite gave the impression that it was just ready to take.

An arch cut out of strawboard and covered with steel-blue enamel paper formed the front of the grate, and the piece left did well for the back. The space between was covered by pasting black tissuepaper on it. One-inch glass tubing, filled with colored water, made good-looking fire-bars, gold foil being pasted on the ends and center. The fire was provided by a 32-candle-power electric bulb, backed by two tin stars, resting on and against a sheet of asbestos. A piece of glass leaned against this, and a large sheet of crimson-colored gelatin covered the whole. Firewood in the shape of stick licorice kept it in position. To stack this in proper artistic disarrangement was a problem, solved at last by tying it in triangles with black tape.

Whole linseed, with an edging of cough-lozenge boxes (yellow label), constituted the fender; but linseed must have gone out of fashion, for while we sold a lot of licorice sticks, very few inquiries for linseed were made. A showy tinseled curtain (yellow in tone) completed the back of the window, and

green eucalyptus oil cartons served as a floor carpet; on this clinical thermometers and hot-water bags with crimson covers were spread about. Fire without smoke is an undoubted attraction to the small boy, to country bumpkins, and to others besides; this fireplace certainly elicited curious comments. A grave consultation between two Irish biddies as to where the smoke went was amusing. The fire, however, if theatrical, was fairly convincing; the little white light which escaped between the edge of the gelatin and the steel-blue back of the grate (left purposely for ventilation and safety) was quite a J. E. COUDREY, Manager of Wm. H. Birks's Pharmacy.

realistic finish.