1 1 8'  Pharmacist  Making  Own  Preparations.  {^^^ 
Jour.  Pharm. 
1915. 
is  standard,  good,  and  therapeutically  efficient.  By  adding  a  half 
ounce  of  syrup  of  tar  to  each  bottle,  you  have  a  white  pine  and  tar 
cough  syrup  that  is  sure  to  please. 
Then  there  are  corn  remedies.  The  general  demand  seems  to  be 
for  the  green  liquid  preparations,  and  the  Collodium  Salicylatum  Com- 
positum  N.  F.  fills  this  demand  nicely.  This  can  be  dispensed  in  two- 
drachm  vials  having  a  brush  or  glass  rod  attached  to  the  cork  or 
stopper,  at  four  or  five  cents  a  bottle.  How  does  that  compare  with 
75  cents  per  dozen  in  six-dozen  quantities?  This  is  the  price  you 
pay  for  an  article  that  is  not  even  N.  F.  This  article  sells  generally 
for  15  cents,  and  thus  yields  a  nice  profit. 
Cold  cream  is  another  preparation  that  can  be  made  cheaper  and 
better  at  your  own  store.  For  prescription  use  none  but  the  U.  S.  P 
article  should  be  dispensed.  This  keeps  well  if  the  ingredients,  used 
in  making  it,  are  of  good  quality. 
There  is  a  demand  for  a  cheaper  cold  cream,  and  one  that  will 
keep  practically  forever,  under  most  any  condition.  The  popular 
taste  runs  to  the  petroleum  oil  cold  creams.  A  very  good  formula 
for  such  a  cold  cream  is  that  of  the  U.  S.  P.,  Unguentum  Aqua  Rosae, 
substituting  white  mineral  oil  for  the  sweet  almond  oil,  and  using  the 
same  method  of  manipulation. 
Such  a  cold  cream  can  be  made  for  17  or  20  cents  per  pound, 
as  against  a  prominent  manufacturer's  price  of  40  cents  in  five- 
pound  quantities.  You  can- make  a  single  pound  for  20  cents. 
A  nice  jar  can  be  bought,  having  a  design  and  the  words  "  Cold 
Cream  "  stamped  on  the  lid,  for  about  3  cents  for  half-ounces,  5  cents 
for  one-ounces,  and  7  cents  for  two-ounces. 
Therefore,  an  ounce  package  of  cold  cream  made  in  this  way  costs 
about  6  cents  and  retails  for  15  cents.  You  cannot  buy  as  good  a  cold 
cream  for  less  than  75  cents  per  dozen,  and  then  the  packages  are 
short  measure. 
From  the  foregoing  it  is  not  hard  to  see  where  many  dollars  can 
be  saved  in  the  course  of  a  year  by  the  pharmacist  making  his  own 
preparations. 
There  is  always  the  additional  satisfaction  of  being  able  to  stand 
back  of  a  preparation  and  say,  "  I  made  it  and  know  it  is  good." 
The  personal  element  counts  for  much  in  the  drug  business  these 
days,  and  it  is  only  by  develooine;-  a  o-ood  personalitv  with  vour 
customers  that  the  influence  of  the  chain  stores',  machine-working 
clerks  can  be  successfully  combated. 
