BUSINESS HINTS

Figuring Costs Simply.

The National Association of Credit Men, says The International Confectioner, gives the following simple. rules for figuring the cost of doing business:

Charge rental on all real estate or buildings owned by you and used in your business at a rate equal to that which you would receive if renting or leasing to others.

Charge in addition to what you pay for hired help, an amount equal to what your services would be worth to others; also treat in like manner the services of any member of your family employed in the business not on the regular pay-roll.

Charge depreciation on all goods carried over on which you may have to make a less price because of change of style, damage, or any other cause.

Charge depreciation on buildings, tools, fixtures, or anything else suffering from age or wear and tear.

Charge amounts donated or subscriptions paid. Charge all fixed expenses, such as taxes, insurance, water, lights, fuel, etc.

Charge all incidental expenses, such as postage, office supplies, livery or expenses of horses and wagons, telegrams and telephones, advertising, canvassing, etc.

Charge losses of every character, including goods stolen or sent out and not charged, allowance made customers, bad debts, etc.

When you have ascertained what the sum of all the foregoing items amounts to, prove it by your books, and you will have your total expense for the year; then divide this figure by the total of your sales, and it will show you the per cent which it has cost you to do business.

More Profit from the Paint Department.

"To increase the sales, and therefore the profits, in the paint department," said Edward Hoffelt at the 1915 meeting of the South Dakota Pharmaceutical Association, “I have the following suggestions to make:

"Handle one good line of paints and varnishes and stick to it. Don't buy a little of everybody's line, thus having a big stock but no complete line of any one brand.

"Keep a complete stock, but do not overstock. With the stock well arranged it will be an easy matter to 'keep tab on it.'

"Have a want-book in your paint department; it is as necessary as a want-book in your drug department. When you have enough shorts to make a shipment send in your order; or add a few gallons of outside white or barn paint or any good seller to make a one hundred pound shipment and save freight.

"Let the people know that you have a complete line of paints, oils, varnishes, brushes, etc.

"During the painting season use newspaper ads, and if there is a moving picture show in town run a slide at least twice a week. Also use an up-to-date mailing list.

"For the asking, the paint houses will furnish you with cuts for the newspaper advertising, slides for the picture show, and other advertising matter. Send them

"Druggists who handle wall-paper should not neglect to call attention to their line of floor paints, varnish stains, brushes, and other items used in the clean-up programme. Do not fail to push this part of the line, as there is a larger profit in interior materials than in outside paints.

"It is a good idea to keep a list of the names of patrons who have buildings that are in need of a coat of paint, also a list of the names of those who are erecting new buildings. See these prospects personally, talk paint to them, tell them of the good qualities of the paint you handle, the complete stock you carry, and the good service you can render, and nine times out of ten you will land the job."

Age Marks on Stock.

"I have had considerable experience in a department store in Chicago," says a writer in The Spatula. "We were in the heart of the city, and did a business of between $250,000 and $300,000 a year on an average stock of $25,000.

"We were right there in the market and had advantages. We did it in this way: We kept track of our stock. We had a card system. On every shelf there was a card which told the normal stock of the goods.

"Take cough syrups: we carried a normal stock of a proprietary of a sixth of a dozen of the dollar size. On the 50-cent size our stock was half a dozen; on the 25-cent size, half a dozen. After watching the purchases and sales, I found the dollar size was not called

for any more. I immediately discontinued it. I

followed that same thing all the way through with syringes, hot-water bottles, razor strops, and everything.

"It sometimes happened that when we had an assortment of a certain quality or size of hot-water bottles we did not know whether a particular bottle had been on the shelf one week or six months. To keep track of them we adopted the following very simple system: Say this is the tenth year of the store's business. In the month of January a purchase is made of a dozen hot-water bottles; they are marked 'A 10.' 'A' stands for the first month of the year, and it is the tenth year that the firm is in business. Those bought in July are marked 'F-10.' A salesman of a hot-water bottle finds one is marked 'A-10' and another 'F-10.' 'A-10' is the one to sell, because that has been on hand six months longer than the other."

One Cent With the Purchasing Power of Five.

As a starter for its 1916 advertisng campaign, the College Pharmacy, of Valparaiso, Indiana, distributed to its customers one thousand New Year's greetings, each with a bright new penny attached to it.

The pennies were fastened to the greetings by means of mucilage and on each card was printed the following: "We'll help you start the new year right. This card and attached penny will be accepted during January of the new year as 5 cents on any article priced at 25 cents or more."

Concerning the scheme Ernest W. Thralls, manager

of the College Pharmacy, says: "We have figured that the profits from increased direct sales resulting during the slack period following the holidays will offset the expense involved by sending out the thousand cards. But even if we find that we have miscalculated in that respect we will still have the advertising value of the scheme to our benefit, so we cannot lose."

Educating Cigar Smokers.

A New York concern which caters to the box cigar trade encloses the following slip with each purchase:

There is one best way to do everything. Therefore in submitting well-established rules covering the smoking of cigars, we would ask you to note carefully the following statements: 1. The Best Way to Remove the End from a Cigar:

The end of a cigar should be cut off, not bitten, as biting loosens the wrapper and otherwise spoils the drawing qualities of a cigar.

2. The Best Way to Light a Cigar:

Light it slowly and pull on it gently until you are sure it is lit evenly all around.

3. The Best Way to Smoke a Cigar:

To obtain the full, rich, nutty flavor, draw the smoke slowly into the mouth while taking in breath through the nostrils, then allow the breath to carry off the smoke leisurely. In this way the full flavor and aroma are obtained, and the strength of both may be regulated by the volume of air allowed to blend with the smoke.

4. The Best Time to Test a Cigar:

It is impossible to judge a cigar when you are suffering from a cold, especially if it be in the head, or when the stomach is out of order, or when one is in a bilious condition. The very best time to judge a cigar is after a moderate meal, preferably after dinner, when one may smoke without interruption. Then the cigar may be smoked slowly and with a full appreciation of its qualities.

Faulty Ads Won't Pull.

Faulty wording, says the Publishers' Guide, renders valueless more than $20,000,000 worth of advertising every year, according to Oscar Hale, who spoke at the Business Science Club, in Philadelphia, recently. This loss will be an annual one until merchants who write their own advertisements either turn over the task to trained men or else learn the proper use of the English language, he said.

"And the worst of all is, the merchant who throws his money away by this faulty advertising develops into the advertising man's worst enemy," he declared. “He spends his money lavishly and gets no results; then he knocks advertising and says it doesn't pay. I wouldn't be surprised to find some day an association of advertising men whose aim it will be either to assist these stubborn ones or else to influence advertising mediums not to take their copy."

"Temptation Tables."

The Kimbrough Hardware Company, Muncie, Ind., calls them "Temptation" tables and, according to Hardware Age, the term is a good one. The firm uses eight tables with tops three feet square to display new merchandise in a way that will tempt customers. Making the tables uniform in size permits of various arrangements. At times several are placed together forming a long table; sometimes four are arranged in a square, or they are placed separately according to the merchandise that is to be displayed.

PRACTICAL PHARMACY

Formaldehyzed Capsules.

A process for rendering soft gelatin capsules insoluble in slightly acid solutions but soluble in slightly alkaline solutions, thus producing enteric capsules, was described at a recent meeting of the Detroit Branch of the A. Ph. A., by Wilbur L. Scoville. In essence, Professor Scoville spoke as follows:

When gelatin capsules are treated with formaldehyde solution a change in the gelatin is started which continues after the capsules are removed and dried. This change results in the gelatin becoming insoluble in aqueous fluids.

If not carried too far, the capsules are rendered enteric, i.e., they will not dissolve in slightly acid solutions at a temperature of 37.5° C.; but will dissolve in slightly alkaline solution at the same temperature.

Hard capsules are not easily treated because the liquid penetrates the capsule between the folds and wets the contents, and the gelatin is softened by the solution and loses its shape, drying with wrinkles, or otherwise out of shape. Hence it is not very practical to treat hard capsules and have them presentable.

Soft capsules are easily treated, and, within certain limits, are very satisfactory.

The filled capsules are immersed in a one-per-cent solution of formaldehyde (10 Cc. of formaldehyde solution, U. S. P., added to 360 Cc. of water) for 30 seconds, then quickly drained and dried. When first treated, and for a week or so afterward, such capsules show no appreciable change, but after two to four weeks they will be found to be insoluble in the warm acid solution (0.3 per cent of hydrochloric acid) but will dissolve in a warm alkaline solution (0.5 per cent of sodium carbonate) within one or two hours.

They retain this property for one to two years, after which they become insoluble in the alkaline solution and are unfit for administration.

The treatment of the capsules is thus very easy and is reliable, but its value for the pharmacist is limited by the fact that the treated capsules cannot be used for enteric purposes for two weeks after treatment, and should not be employed after about a year. Within these limits it has proved the most practical and reliable method of enteric treatment that the retail pharmacist can prepare.

Tinctures from Fluidextracts.

At a recent meeting of the Baltimore Branch of the American Pharmaceutical Association Dr. Herman Englehardt presented a paper in which he reviewed the work of the Scientific Section of the parent association. The part which caused most discussion was the consideration of Professor Scoville's paper on "Tinctures."

Professor Scoville had carried out experiments covering a period of four years in order to find out whether or not tinctures made from fluidextracts were just as effective and stable as those prepared by the U. S. P. processes. His conclusion was: "On the whole, tinctures made from fluidextracts compare very favorably with those made direct from the drugs. In the

case of the standardized tinctures, the strength is necessarily the same and the stability is fully as good, if not better." The inference as to non-standardized tinctures of course being that as those which could be subjected to chemical and physiological tests were all right the others must be.

In the discussion it was brought out that one pharmacy of an exceedingly high reputation possibly owed considerable of its success to the uniformity and reliability of its tinctures, which were made from assayed fluidextracts wherever possible. This method was contrasted with the practices of some pharmacists who dispense unassayed tinctures made from assayed, and even unassayed, drugs which might or might not represent the proper strengths.

The absurdity of the Pharmacopœia directing that tincture of nux vomica be made from a powdered extract when it already recognized an assayed fluidextract was pointed out.

In the discussion, however, it was emphasized that infusions and decoctions must never be made from fluidextracts, as the menstruums used in preparing them were entirely different.

Extemporaneous Preparation of Camphor Lini

ment.

"I have prepared camphor liniment in less than ten minutes by the following method," writes Robert W. Terry, in a recent issue of the Journal of the A. Ph. A. "Place the camphor in a mortar and add sufficient chloroform or ether to reduce the camphor to an extremely fine powder, being sure no small lumps remain. Allow this to stand a minute with an occasional stir to facilitate the spontaneous evaporation of the solvent; then add a small quantity of the oil and triturate until a thoroughly homogeneous mass results; add another small portion of oil and mix again; transfer this to the bottle and rinse the mortar with the remainder of the oil; shake, and after standing three or four minutes the camphor will be in solution-provided the camphor was powdered properly.

"Alcohol must not be used in powdering the camphor, as this evaporates slowly compared to the ether or chloroform, and, being almost insoluble in cottonseed oil, it produces an undesirable cloudiness in the finished product.

"Always weigh the oil unless its exact specific gravity is known. This will insure the finished product being the required strength.

"The trace of chloroform or ether remaining will be of no importance, and I can see no objection to this feature.

"Another advantage of this process is that no camphor is volatilized resulting from the heating on a waterbath a factor which might account for a weak preparation.

"This method is not so good as the official one when camphor liniment is intended to be used for a subcutaneous injection, wherein the heating would tend to sterilize the oil, a desirable feature. So little camphor liniment is used for this purpose, especially since ampoules of this preparation are on the market, that it would not be practical to prepare it by the official process just for this reason."

A True Benzoin, Glycerin, and Rose-water.

Many pharmacists extemporaneously prepare this well-known and widely-used skin lotion by adding a few drops of tincture of benzoin to a mixture of glycerin and rose-water. The result, according to a paper presented by George M. Levan at the 1915 meeting of the Pennsylvania Pharmaceutical Association, is an unsightly mixture due to the separation of the benzoin.

Tincture of soapbark, tragacanth, mucilage of quinceseed, and other emulsifying agents are used and yield good-looking products, but such products cannot truly be labeled "Benzoin, Glycerin, and Rose-water," as they contain other ingredients.

A method used for some time was to take U. S. P. tincture of benzoin, glycerin, rose-water, and enough alcohol to take up the benzoin that had separated. This yields a nice-looking product, but as quite a little alcohol is required, it was not very satisfactory. On standing for some time the preparation developed a pink color, which is also an objection.

A mode of preparation now used, and one that yields a product which can truly be called benzoin, glycerin, and rose-water, is to heat the glycerin and rose-water to boiling point, add tincture of benzoin, and then mix thoroughly and strain. The product from this method of preparation has good keeping qualities, as portions of it have stood for six months and more, without separation or change in color.

The following proportions are used:

Tincture of benzoin, U. S. P.. 6 fluidrachms.
Rose-water
.40 fluidounces.
.24 fluidounces.

Glycerin

Misce; signa: A teaspoonful every three hours.

Ferric salts are precipitated by alkaline carbonates and arsenites, hence if the tincture of ferric chloride and the solution of potassium arsenite are first mixed, a cloudiness will result which finally turns into a precipitate. If the quinine alkaloid be first dissolved in the tincture of ferric chloride with the aid of some of the water, and the solution of potassium arsenite be then added, a precipitate is also likely to form, from the alkaline action of the latter upon the quinine.

To prepare a clear mixture, proceed as follows: Dissolve the quinine in the tincture of ferric chloride with the aid of the water, then add the glycerin (which protects both the iron salt and the alkaloid), and finally add the solution of potassium arsenite.

CAPSULES OF SCIENCE

Prepared by WILBUR L. SCOVILLE.

Ionized Ideas.

"German silver" is no longer recognized in England. It is now called "nickel silver."

A 3.5-per-cent solution of boric acid removes rust from iron better than other fluids, and does not appreciably attack the metal itself.

Glycerin retards alcoholic fermentation when present to the extent of 21 per cent, and entirely prevents it when 42.3 per cent is present. Ten per cent of glycerin does not retard fermentation.

An Italian pharmacist recommends that a little milk of magnesia be added to potassium iodide solution to prevent discoloration. Any excess of magnesia settles, and the clear liquid can be decanted.

A mixture of 60 per cent of alcohol with 40 per cent of ether, and a trace of ammonia to prevent corrosion, is being tried as a motor fuel. It promises well.

Certain Russian mineral springs have been declared to be "medicinally worthless" because they are devoid of radioactivity. This is the latest word on the value of mineral spring waters.

Sodium tetravanillin ferrate is prepared by mixing alcoholic solutions of ferric acetate, vanillin, and sodium hydroxide. It is a true compound of iron-vanillin-sodium and precipitates as a black powder. Similar compounds with eugenol can be made.

Hydrogen peroxide entirely disappears from milk in 18 hours, though its preservative effects are evident for 48 or more hours.

Magnesium sulphate inhibits peristalsis, while sodium sulphate promotes it. It is thought that when magnesium sulphate is administered some sodium sulphate is formed by interaction in the body, and the peristalsis is caused by this.

Urinod, the odorous body in urine, is found to be fatal in doses 1/500 to 1/800 of the body weight. It produces symptoms resembling those of uremia.

Cats have been kept unconscious for days by administration of luminal and afterward recover completely.

Stramonium is found to be the most successful means of combating the poisonous action of bromine fumes.

W. C. Taber says that to produce a tamarind syrup which displays a desirable degree of flavor and acidity, two pounds of tamarind per gallon are necessary.

A. Johnsen says that one molecule of water in magnesium sulphate crystals is held more loosely than the others, and that the other six molecules are probably polymerized.

Sunlight will decompose glycerin, forming aldehydes and other odorous substances. The decomposition is more rapid when the glycerin is diluted with water.

Water in combination, such as water of crystallization, is found to be more active chemically than free water, and promotes reactions to a greater degree. It is thought that water of hydration is more strongly hydrolyzed.

Aluminum cables which are steel reën forced have proved of practical value in resisting rust and in wearing qualities, and are coming into use.

Iron pipe buried in dry soil will last for 100 to 300 years, but in salt marshes or other wet and saline soils it may rust out within seven or eight years.

Ether does not boil out of an oil solution when heated as rapidly as it separates from aqueous mixtures under corresponding heat. The oil seems to hold the ether in spite of the heat.

Wild indigo (Baptisia) has an antiseptic action which has just been found to be due to its containing a new type of phenol, which has been named baptisol.

California and Oregon produced 570 troy ounces of platinum in 1914, and Nevada 110 ounces. Besides this 2906 ounces was obtained from refiners of gold and copper bullion and matte, and 40,820 ounces from old jewelry, dental sweepings, etc., in the United States.

X-ray Excerpts.—

Hexamethyleneamine when mixed with lithium carbonate or benzoate, or with soluble benzoates or salicylates, slowly liquefies. It decomposes aspirin and antipyrin, and is itself decomposed by alkalies.

Rancidity in fats may be induced by microorganisms, by air, light, and small amounts of water. The odor is due to extremely small amounts of aldehydes and ketones, and may be removed by treatment with solution of potassium permanganate. Excessive amounts of free acid are best removed by shaking with sodium silicate solution.

The Osage orange has been the subject of investigation for the purpose of finding some use. Southern varieties are found to be rich in a red dye, and it is proposed to use it for this purpose. It can compete with fustic in price, as well as providing a market for a hitherto valueless plant.

A mixture of three parts of borax and one part of boric acid liquefies on heating on a steam bath, and the mixture remains fluid after cooling if not shaken. It is probably a colloidal solution of boric acid in the borax, and is employed as a flux in soldering, having some advantages over powdered borax for that purpose.

Canada now allows of the use of caramel, cochineal, saffron, chlorophyl, and non-poisonous dyes in foodstuffs without a declaration on the label, provided the dyes are not used in larger proportions than two grains per pound. Copper is allowed in peas to a limit of 80 parts per million.

Arsenic in fabrics, wall-paper, etc., is changed by molds into diethylcacodyl oxide, which is volatile and may be absorbed through the lungs, producing poisonous effects. The volatile compound was formerly thought to be arsine, but the results are essentially the same.

The active principle of the thyroid gland is believed to be di-iodo-dihydroxyindole, which has been separated from the gland and tried physiologically. The next step will be to prepare it synthetically and test its value in comparison with the natural product.

Collodion films, made by evaporating collodion on glass and peeling off the film, are being used for the filtration of diphtheria and tetanus toxins. They act rapidly but hold back all of the germs and antigens, while allowing the toxins and soluble salts to pass through.

Quinine salts destroy the striated muscle of frogs and form a compound with them. Quinine hastens the production of fatigue in the muscles, and decreases the amount of work performed.

Hard water is not considered particularly healthful for drinking, but it is found to promote soundness of teeth, especially when the water contains some magnesium as well as calcium salts..

Animal charcoal absorbs toxins completely and renders the liquid non-toxic. A solution of diphtheria toxin shaken with the charcoal failed to produce any effect in a guinea-pig in 100 times the fatal dose of the untreated toxin.

An antiseptic and deodorant solution which is prepared in Italy, and combines the iodine and peroxide actions, is made by dissolving 3 Gm. of sodium iodide in 100 mils of hydrogen peroxide and 100 mils of water. It must be used fresh.

Sodium carbonate shows an alkaline reaction to litmus paper in solutions as weak as the 512th normal, potassium cyanide to the 256th normal, sodium benzoate to the quarter-normal, and Rochelle salt to the seminormal strength. The reactions of some salts, as the benzoates, tartrates, nitrites, etc., thus may depend upon the strength of the solution tested.

temperature of about 40° C. The gauze is immersed in this, wrung out, dried, and then sterilized.

Water Pity!

J. C. Umney states that volatile oils consisting largely of ethers and alcohols may dissolve as much as half a per cent of water, and this amount of water is detrimental to their keeping qualities and interferes with blending. Terpene oils, like lemon, juniper, eucalyptus, etc., are not capable of dissolving water to an appreciable extent. With some of the more expensive oils the dissolved water may be an important factor in their cost as well as in their keeping properties. A Swell Affair.—

Gelatin swells rapidly in cold water during the first hour, and very slowly after about that time: Swelling continues very slowly for more than three weeks, but the greater part occurs within the first hour. The gelatin particles increase in size and their cohesion decreases. When heated the gelatin dissolves, and at temperatures above 65° C. it seems to undergo a change, the solution decreasing in viscosity. Below 65° C. this change does not occur. When the change is once made by heat, the solution does not again recover its original viscosity on cooling.

About Arsenic.

Arsenic is taken up by the hair of the living person but not in a dead person, hence the presence or absence of arsenic in the hair may determine whether the person died of acute or chronic arsenic poisoning. The arsenic content in hair varies from 1 in 5 to 1 in 100,000, and the deposit in hair occurs after that in the liver and other organs. In cases of acute poisoning the organs will contain arsenic, but not the hair. In slow, chronic poisoning the arsenic will be found in the hair, and its detection may determine the question of arsenical poisoning in a living person. But arsenic in minute amounts may be found in the hair of perfectly healthy

men.

Polarized Paragraphs.—

Lime when slacked with water a little more than doubles its volume, but when dissolved in water it reduces the volume of the water, one gramme in one liter reducing the water by 0.7 mil.

To harden and toughen filter paper, dip it into concentrated nitric acid, remove quickly, wash in running water, and then rinse in weak ammonia, and finally wash in pure water and dry without heat. A second treatment increases the toughness.

Coal may be ground so fine that when suspended in oil or even in water it can be used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It is necessary not only to grind the coal very fine, but also to suspend it evenly by aid of some colloid, as gelatin, soap, albumen, or casein.

Thousands of cubic feet of argon are being made in the U. S. for use in incandescent electric lamps, by which the power and efficiency of the lamp is increased. Most of it is made by passing nitrogen from the air through cyanamide furnaces until only argon remains.

Cantharidin hydrolyzes to cantharidic acid, which is dibasic, but whose salts are decomposed by water. The most stable combination thus far made from it is brucine cantharidate.