36      THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  BUSINESS — ITS  MANAGEMENT. 
He  who  is  more  remote  from  a  good  market  finds  it  necessary 
to  buy  in  larger  lots  and,  of  course,  with  no  greater  capital  than 
he  of  a  city,  must  accordingly  lessen  his  assortment.  I  have 
always  thought  it  poor  policy  in  the  beginner  in  a  small  village, 
for  the  sake  of  making  a  show  in  doing  business,  to  drag  into  his 
stock  a  lot  of  groceries  or  paints  and  oils,  when  the  same  capital 
invested  in  increasing  his  assortment  of  goods  in  our  legitimate 
pursuits,  while  it  would  lessen  perhaps  the  aggregate  of  his  sales, 
would,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  increase  his  profits  in  a  like  pro- 
portion. Is  it  better  to  sell  thirty  thousand  dollars  per  annum 
'handling  coarse  goods  to  make  up  the  bulk  of  it  at  no  profit,  or 
to  sell  half  that  in  our  line  of  goods  with  a  profit  equal  to  that  on 
the  former. 
The  judicious  buyer  who  (supposing  him  to  be  a  western  man) 
goes  to  the  larger  markets  twice  or  three  times  a  year  will  devote 
considerable  reflection  upon  his  list  of  wants;  a  schedule  of  his 
purchases  of  the  principal  items  during  each  year  for  previous 
years  will  assist  in  judging  of  quantities  required.  If  the  list 
be  long  and  the  purse  narrow,  of  course  proportions  are  to  be 
still  more  carefully  considered,  if  independent  of  this,  those 
periods  of  general  stagnation  which  occur  from  a  thousand 
causes,  often  each  year,  for  a  few  days  or  weeks  are  inviting  in 
which  to  buy.  It  is  only,  however,  the  large  operators,  with  un- 
bounded capital,  who  are  in  the  markets  themselves,  that  can  feel 
its  pulse,  and  corner  it  too,  that  can  take  the  real  benefit  of  such 
ebbs  and  flows  of  trade  tide. 
When  practicable,  goods  slowly  bought,  that  is,  more  reflecting- 
ly,  are  better  bought ;  do  not  crowd  the  fair  work  of  a  week  into 
two  days. 
A  knowledge  of  the  value  of  the  leading  drugs,  etc.,  in  each 
month  for  the  year  and  preceding  years,  affords  a  good  rule  to 
guide  you  in  getting  the  best  average  how  to  buy. 
In  these  days  a  system  of  brokerage  has  sprung  up  which  is  of 
much  assistance  to  all  buyers  in  the  interior ;  men  who,  for  a 
small  commission,  will  purchase  your  list  of  wants  perhaps  better 
than  you  could  yourself,  by  knowing  the  best  sources  of  supply 
better  than  you. 
He  whose  business  is  increasing  and  whose  gains  enable  him 
