Druggist  and  Veterinarian.  253 
centrated  in  the  kk  laboratory "  in  order  to  insure  the  necessary 
quietude. 
A  little  study  of  the  geography  of  the  premises  demonstrated 
that  the  laboratory  could  hardly  be  big  enough  to  swing  a  cat.  He 
further  assured  me  that  he  made,  tested,  and  standardized  all  of  his 
own  preparations,  and  J  thought,  well !  never  mind  what  I  thought. 
The  veterinarian  is  not  attracted  when  the  proprietor  of  such  an 
emporium  as  the  one  I  have  just  described  assures  him  that  the 
retail  drug  business  is  absolutely  dead. 
Nobody  cares  to  mix  up  with  a  corpse,  and  I  would  suggest  if 
the  business  is  really  dead  then  an  indecent  interval  of  time  has  been 
allowed  to  intervene  between  the  demise  of  the  dear  deceased  and 
the  call  for  the  undertaker.  If  the  business  is  dead,  bury  it,  and  let 
us  make  a  fresh  start. 
However,  the  retail  drug  business  is  not  dead,  but  rather,  perhaps, 
in  a  somewhat  valetudinarian  condition,  largely  due  to  too  much 
concentration  of  attention  upon  its  own  woes. 
A  somewhat  lengthy  experience  has  taught  me  that  if  we  look 
well  to  our  duties  our  rights  will  take  care  of  themselves,  and  I  am 
of  the  opinion  that  if  you  young  gentlemen  face  modern  conditions 
cheerfully,  determined  to  conduct  the  retail  drug  business  as  it  ought 
to  be  conducted,  the  rewards  will  be  proportionate  to  the  endeavor. 
If  you  want  our  business,  meet  us  with  a  smile,  put  out  your  best 
goods  to  the  front,  and  by  this  I  mean  your  pharmaceuticals.  Here 
a  few  words. 
The  veterinarian  needs  the  best ;  if  you  want  to  hold  him  you  can't 
substitute  kk  Just  as  good  "  for  the  best ;  we  demand  standardized  and 
physiologically  tested  extracts  and  tinctures ;  we  are  willing  to  pay 
for  quality,  but  you  must  deliver  the  goods.  You  can't  put  a  display 
of  the  best  in  the  window  and  dispense  the  worst  in  the  back  room. 
We  like  to  meet  the  proprietor,  and  take  it  kindly  if  we  find  that 
he  is  sufficiently  interested  in  our  branch  of  medicine  to  acquire  a 
little  information  on  the  subject.  We  appreciate  pharmaceutical  in- 
formation; some  of  us  are  willing  to  learn  improved  methods  of 
prescription  writing  or  dispensing,  things  the  up-to-date  druggist, 
seeing  many  prescriptions  from  many  writers,  is  usually  qualified 
to  teach.  On  the  other  hand,  the  veterinarian  can  help  the  druggist 
in  the  matter  of  veterinary  dosage,  the  most  suitable  way  of  adminis- 
tering drugs  to  different  species  of  animals,  and  can  instruct  him 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1915. 
