THE  PHARMACEUTICAL  BUSINESS — ITS  MANAGEMENT.  37 
to,  can  in  no  way  better  invest  his  surplus  profits  than  in  buying 
the  more  staple  or  non-perishable  articles  of  his  stock  in  original 
packages ;  the  difference  is  always  so  considerable,  and,  in  fact, 
constitutes  the  profit  of  him  who  is  called  the  jobber,  who  is 
between  the  importer  or  package  dealer  and  the  small  buyer. 
The  druggist  who  possesses  the  appliances  on  his  own  premises 
to  manufacture  to  any  extent  the  various  pharmaceutical  pro- 
ducts, etc.,  that  his  business  requires,  will  certainly  buy  stock 
only  in  primary  form,  and  save  by  such  conversions  the  profit 
of  him  who  manufactures  for  those  who  do  not  make  for  them- 
selves. 
This  point  of  manufacturing  in  each  shop  all  that  is  possible 
to  make,  so  far  as  skill  and  appliances  go,  is  so  obvious  that  no- 
thing farther  need  be  said  concerning  it. 
A  means  of  economy  lies  in  the  proper  arrangements  to  pre- 
serve stock,  until  it  is  sold,  from  the  ravages  of  vermin,  the  effects 
of  dust,  heat,  light,  moisture,  etc.  Necessity  has  led  many  a 
thoughtful  one  in  our  line  to  devise  means  to  this  end,  and 
throughout  our  periodicals  and  in  our  text-books  you  will  find 
numerous  suggestions  bearing  upon  this  point,  so  that  hardly  a 
preparation  or  drug  but  has  in  its  history,  description  or  formula, 
suggestions  to  this  end.  And  this  brings  up  the  subject  of  our 
drug  literature,  as  affording  continually  in  its  periodicals  hints 
and  suggestions  of  great  economic  value ;  it  is,  then,  economy  to 
be  a  liberal  patron  to  these. 
As  an  efficient  source  of  economy  lies  in  the  facility  of  doing 
a  large  amount  of  labor  with  a  comparatively  small  amount  of 
clerk  help,  this  facility  may  be  and  is  to  be  only  acquired  by  the 
systematic  arrangement  of  stock  and  store  fixtures  so  as  to  save 
every  possible  step,  and  to  facilitate  by  every  practicable  means 
the  rapid  handling  of  goods.  Every  one  who  has  been  in  business 
some  years,  knows  by  experience  how  improvements  bearing  on 
this  point  are  continually  forcing  their  necessity  on  him ;  this  is 
instanced  in  the  arranging  of  shop  drawers  and  ware  in  a  retail 
store,  with  reference  to  the  center  scale  counter,  so  that  those 
items  most  often  required  shall  require  the  fewest  steps  to  reach, 
and  in  the  dispensing  department  by  having  the  same  drug  in 
its  various  forms  for  instant  admixture,  enabling  one  in  preparing 
recipes  to  dispense  with  much  of  the  preliminary  labor.    I  can 
