25.400 Millimetres.

I Foot (12 Inches)

1 Yard (3 Feet)
1 Fathom (6 Feet)
1 Pole (521⁄2 Yards)

I Chain (22 Yards)

I Furlong (220 Yards)

1 Mile (8 Furlongs)

SQUARE MEASURE:

1 Square Inch

1 Square Foot (144 Square Inches

1 Square Yard (9 Sq. feet.) 1 Perch (30% Sq. Yards) 1 Rood (40 Perches)

1 Acre (4840 Square Yards) 1 Square Mile (640 Acres)

CUBIC MEASURE:

1 Cubic Inch

0 30480 Metre. 0.914399 Metre. 1.8288 Metres. 5.0292 20. 1168 =201.168

=

=

1.6093 kilometres

6 4516 Sq. C. 9.2903 Sq. D. 0.836126 Sq. M. 25 293 Sq. M. 10.117 Acres. 0.40468 Hectare. =259.00 Hectares.

APOTHECARIES MEASURE:

I Minim

1 Fluid Scruple

1 Fluid Drachm (60 Minims)

I Fluid Ounce (8 Drachms) I Pint ..

1 Gallon (8 Pints or 160 Fluid Ounces)

AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT:

I Grain..

I Dram

1 Ounce (16 Drams)

I Pound (16 Ozs. or 7000 Grains)

1 Stone (14 Lbs.)

1 Quarter (28 Lbs.)

1 Hundredweight (Cwt.) ( (112 Lbs.)

1 Ton (20 Cwt.)

TROY WEIGHT:

I Grain

1 Pennyweight (24 Grains) 1 Troy Oucce (20 Penny'wts)

APOTHECARIES WEIGHT:

1 Grain

1 Scruple 20 Grains)

I Drachm (3 Scruples) 1 Ounce (8 Dracms)

=

=

= =

=

=

=

=

NOTE.-Approximately 1 Litre equals 1000 Cu'ic Centimetres, and 1 Millilitre equals 1.00016 Cubic Centimetres.

-Pharmaceutical Journal.

SKIAGRAPHY.

was

Mr. Barbour, who was at one time with Messrs. Faulding & Co., has for a long while past been devoting his attention to the practical application of the Rôntgen Rays, and many are the patients who have been successfully treated by the surgeons, after the true conditions of things was revealed through Mr. Barbour's aid. Recently, a remarkable case successfully dealt with at Port Adelaide, Dr. Bollen being the operating surgeon. A child four years old had been suffering from a mysterious pain in the abdomen and had been five months under treatment for it, without the cause of pain and passing of blood being determined. About two months ago a lump was discovered. The lump was hard, and gradually increased in size, and at length Barbour's aid was sought. The X rays being applied revealed the presence of a packing needle 34 inches in length in the region of the bladder. By a method Mr. Balfour has adopted he was able to determine that the point of the needle was only one quarter of an inch below the surface of the skin. An operation was subsequently performed, and it was found that the needle had transfixed the upper portion of the bladder. Part of the offending article was exposed, but it could not be withdrawn without tearing the bladder. The opening was enlarged, and then crystals were discovered adhering to the needle, which had prevented its withdrawal. Each end that protruded beyond the bladder was encysted in a sheath of hardened tissue. The operation was successfully concluded, the bladder and skin being sewn up, and the child, whose temperature never rose above normal, made a rapid With regard to the determination of the position of a foreign body, Mr. Barbour has a system of working by scale which enables him to tell to the thirtieth part of an inch where it is.-Aust'ln. Jour. of Pharmacy.

On September 18, 1870, mail communication from Paris was interrupted by the German investment of the city. Balloons were at once resorted to and on Sept. 23, 25,000 letters were carried out by the "Neptune. Later 12,000 went out on the "Washington. While letters could be carried out they could not be brous ht in by balloon. were therefore sent out with the mitted to bring back dispatches. light enough in weight for the Photo-micrography was therefore resorted to. Messages were copied on a single sheet of paper and then reduced to the most minute proportions. On their arrival in Paris the characters were enlarged by the microscope. Each message was then copied on

Carrier pigeons balloons and perThese had to be pigeons to carry.

a card and forwarded to the person addressed. Each word cost ten cents and each message was limited to twenty words. Later the messages were printed from type and reduced still farther. They were put on pieces of paper 1 by 11⁄2 inches. The collodion films were tolled and enclosed in small quills which were sewed to the tail feathers of the pigeons. The collodion films were ten times thinner and lighter than paper. On arrival, in Paris, the quills were split open and the films rapidly unrolled in water containing a few drops of ammonia. The films were then dried and enclosed within two plates of glass. They were then ready to be deciphered by the microscope. This mode of reading was lately supplanted by a projecting lantern and electric light. When thrown upon a large screen four transcribers could work at once on each sheet contained 1,600 messages. At a later time, the films were photographed back to the scale of the original printed matter so that each section was enlarged from the most minute dimensions to a form that could be read with perfect ease. Then the telegrams were separated by scissors and each persons received a dispatch in fac-simile to the original printed matter. Many of these dispatches are to-day exhibited as specimens of photomicrography.-Microscopical Journal.

THE WILD AND WOOLLY WEST. The war revenue tax has caused Hood's Sarsaparilla to be advanced from $8 per dozen to $8.75. Thirty cents of this advance goes to the government and forty-five cents to Hood. It is a singular fact that Hood and his pals, by means of their oil room at Washington, succeeded in beating down the stamp rate from 4 cents to 21⁄2 cents on dollar preparations. They represented that 48 cents per dozen was excessive for the government to exact. We would like to see every retail druggist in the country assessed $1 for each bottle of this nostrum he sells, the proceeds to go toward establishing a home for those financial and physical wrecks in the retail drug business, caused by the heartless policy of Hood et al. in confining the sale of their goods to department stores.

"Pink Pills" are advanced in price to make the sucker that buys them pay the tax. If the price could be advanced still more, perhaps the retailer would be more interested in the composition of this rank humbug. An application of the Marsh test is profitable exercise, and might serve to remind the pharmacist that his pale patrons who are misled by lying advertisements may soon become wrecks from arsenical poisoning. Society provides us with police protection against burglary and highway robbery, and in the absence of such protection justifies and authorizes us to protect ourselves when attacked in

any way possible, to the extent, even, of killing the assailant. Yet slow poisoning by means of patent medicines at cut rates, job lots or gift schemes may be perpetrated upon the innocent and gullible public with impunity, and the state looks tamely on. The sale of arsenic is regulated by law in Colorado, and no dealer should be allowed to sell it, whether in the free state or in the form of a "patent," without complying with the law.-Rocky Mountain Druggist.

CREDITS AND COLLECTIONS.

A TALK ON THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CREDIT-
CUSTOMERS-THE "GILT-EDGED, " THE UN-

FORTUNATE, AND THE "DEAD BEAT"
--METHODS OF OBTAINING PAY-

MENT FROM DEBTORS.

BY SAM BUCUS.

To credit or not to credit is often a vexatious question. And if to credit, to what extent ? Where or what is the limit to which credit can safely be given?

CREDITS.

The percentage of credit that has to be given by the pharmacist is relatively small. While he has some customers who call on him with regularity for certain family supplies, his custom is often with those who patronize him because forced to do so by ill health. They often expect, and always hope, that each purchase of medicine will be the last, and they usually pay cash-provided they have it.

A credit business with responsible persons is desirable. It is so because such people make purchases without quibbling as to prices and are usually liberal buyers, not having to limit themselves to the amount of cash on hand and often purchasing more than their actual needs call for. Again, their entire patronage is more certainly retained, because having an account in one place they are not likely to open another in the same line at another place. But even with "gilt-edged" customers the amount of capital at command must guide the limit of credit. A business man who has to borrow money with which to carry on his business cannot afford to give lengthy or large credits to anyone. The item of interest follows him while he sleeps. The limit should certainly be such as not to endanger his own safety.

Circumstances often force the pharmacist to give credit in cases where he knows the collection of the account will be doubtful. The rank and file of mankind live in the "hand to mouth" style. They are not prepared for sickness, and when it comes, especially if it be to the wage-earner, their little savings are soon exhausted. Then it is that they must either have credit or suffer. Always before they have been cash customers, but now they cannot pay and are in distress. Who can refuse accommodation

in such cases? No one of charitable spirit-although records show that a large percentage of these accounts go to "profit and loss. " The only course is to temper discretion with charity and develop a careful sense of discrimination.

The professional "dead beat" is everywhere. His skill in securing a living without work is often marvelous. And the "nerve" which he possesses is prodigious. We all know his tactics! How he flatters one's methods of business! brings in some one to make a purchase! with much ado buys something himself! At first he pays cash; then secures a little credit and pays up promptly; finally starts a regular account, giving excuses and promises galore! His purchases then increase-and so does his account. When you begin to smell the rodent he scampers away to another store and works the same game. Every store doing a credit business has such customers to contend with. Once a retail merchant learns to distinguish and to handle them, he has, in my opinion, solved the greatest problem of credit giving. So bear this in mind—learn these rodents and limit their credit to zero !

COLLECTIONS.

A good collector is a valuable man. There is something about the presentation of a bill, although correct and fully due, that produces an unpleasant effect on the debtor-as if his liberty, as an American citizen, was in some measure interfered with. Especially true is this if it comes at a time when the bank account is low, and still more so if the debtor has himself recently been on an unsatisfactory collecting tour.

The collector must be all things to all men. He must keep his temper, even if the debtor shows and expresses impatience. A little tact, a pleasant repartee, will often put the most impatient in good humor, and if not able to pay then, they will perhaps set an early date when the obligations can probably be met.

Accounts should be settled often-" short credits make long friends." The majority of debtors should either be called upon, or sent statements, each month. Small bills are easier paid than large ones; and then, too, the undesirable customer is discovered before his account is large. Exceptions there are where longer credits can be given with good results, but in these cases one must know his man thoroughly.

A credit business cannot be done without accumulating some bad accounts-and some worse. Give these all prompt attention. If the debtor says he is unable to pay at the time, have him set a day when he will do so. If he will not set a day, you need not look for trouble, for you already have it. It will then be policy for the collector to name a date when he will call again, and for him to note this

date on the bill and be sure to call in accordance therewith. All these failing, resort must be had either to diplomacy or law. The latter is expensive, uncertain, unsatisfactory, and for all the small accounts of the ordinary pharmacist, impracticable.

If your debtor is in business of any kind, has any merchandise to sell, trade out the account at once. You may lose by it, but better lose part than all. Your debtor, having his account adjusted, will be ready to do business with you again, but it is well to see that future transactions are met with cash.

It may be that by giving more time to your creditor he would give his note; but this is no better to collect by law than an account. Still, if placed in a bank for collection, it often has a very stimulating effect. A person will often pay an account to a bank that he would not to private individuals. This is because a refusal at the bank clouds their credit abroad as well as at home.

COLLECTION AGENCIES.

These often succeed where private enterprise fails. There are various kinds of agencies, each having some good points. To my mind there is one that is exceeded by none and equaled by few. This is the plan:

First, a notice is sent the debtor that this agency has received notice that he owes B a certain sum and that it is best for him to "settle" on or before a certain date. This notice is not sent by the agency, but by the creditor himself. It is written on a blank legal form supplied by the agency, and then enclosed in a plain envelope. If there is no response to this a second and more forcible notice is sent, and if necessary a third. This last is couched in language as forcible as the most spirited attorney can dictate. Now all these notices purport to come from the agency, but the location of this agency is carefully omitted. If the notices have any effect whatever, the debtor is led to visit his creditor to find out whence these pithy nuisances come. Herein lies the advantage. You can now compromise if you think it wise to do so, and if you do, it can usually be done in such a manner as to still retain the debtor as a customer.

heartening when no collections are even then made. Still there are times when law should be resorted to simply to teach dishonest persons a lesson. In such an instance the cost should not act as a restrainer, for the reputation which one gets is worth far more than the expense. He will be known as a man who will allow no one to beat him, and trouble and loss with debtors will ever afterward be diminished to his permanent advantage.-Bulletin of Pharmacy.

THE PHYSICIAN'S RESPONSIBILITY IN PRESCRIPTION WRITING.

B. F. FLORA.

A great deal has been said and written about errors in compounding prescriptions, and the druggist, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, is most invariably held responsible. No one ever seems to think that the physician may be as much at fault as the druggist. I have no desire to rush into print an unjust tirade against any one, but I do say that the physician is often to blame for errors that occur in filling his prescriptions and should be held equally responsible with the druggist.

I have a case in point: Not long ago the following prescription was handed to a druggist to be prepared:

B Camphoric acid, gr. xx.
Ft. chart.

Disp. tal. chart. No. 5.

Sig. Take one powder at 6 o'clock each evening. The druggist who was called upon to fill this prescription, although an experienced man in the business, was like a majority of his fellow-druggists in country towns and understood no Latin except such terms as are ordinarily used in prescription writing. Consequently the term "Disp. tal." was a stunner. However, as the thing seemed so simple he concluded that "Disp. tal. chart. No. 5" meant divide twenty grains into five powders, and dispensed it accordingly, with bad results. The patient received

but little benefit from the medicine and the doctor blamed the druggist for making a mistake; and it was all caused by the writer of the prescription making use of a Latin term obsolete and understood by very few country druggists, when he could much easier have indicatèd the quantity of drug and written Fiat chart. No. 5, thus making it so simple that any druggist would understand at a glance what was wanted.

In this case I claim that the physician was to blame for the mistake, but I do not hold the druggist blameless. He was at fault for filling a prescription every word of which he did not understand. In prescription work nothing should pass as understood without investigation, and guess work won't

do at all.

When a druggist undertakes to compound a prescription he should have everlastingly impressed upon his mind the fact that every word means something, and if there is one that he does not understand, serious results may follow. And physicians should make their writing so distinct and their meaning so explicit that it would be impossible for them to be misunderstood. Another bit of carelessness of which physicians are guilty is that of crowding their lines together and writing two prescriptions upon one blank, and frequently when the front side of the blank is full continue their writing on the back of it. I remember one instance in which two prescriptions were written on one blank and the druggist filled the first one, labeled it with the directions for the second and sent out the medicine without having noticed that there were two. Well, the physician will say, it is the druggist's place to examine the blank closely. So I will admit But why make it necessary for him to scrutinize your work so closely and study so hard to find out what you are driving at ? It takes time to do that. Why not make your lines so far apart and your words so distinct that the busy druggist may read as he runs ? It would be just as easy for you and the danger of mistakes would be reduced to a minimum, to say nothing about the satisfaction to the druggist, whose life is hard enough at the best.

Ah! if we could only bear in mind our fellowworkers, and instead of making their tasks harder by our carelessness would lighten their labors by doing our part well, business would then be a pleasure and gray hair would be scarce. The result of our work lives after us, and upon whether our actions are right or wrong depends the usefulness and happiness of others--Meyer Bros. Druggist.

A NATURAL CURE FOR ALCOHOLISM.

It is claimed by Dr. Grinders, Government Officer at the Hot Springs Sanitorium, Rotorua, (N Y.), that he has found a spring, lately opened to supply the new sulphur baths, which completely eradicates the desire for alcohol The doctor writes: "If I had heard this from one or two individuals only I might have disregarded it, but hearing it commented on almost daily, I have taken the trouble to look up the cases. Two of these were very aggravagated examples of inebriety, whose acquaintance I first made in the courthouse, where I found myself under the painful necessity of fining each of them the usual 5s. and costs. They assure me that they find themselves new men since bathing in these sulphur baths, and have lost all taste and desire for liquor of every kind. Three other patients of mine, to whom I have found it necessary to advise total·