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Druggist  and  Veterinarian. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharru. 
June,  1915. 
usefully  in  the  matter  of  idiosyncrasies  of  the  different  species  of 
animals. 
Another  point  worth  remembering  when  dispensing  veterinary 
prescriptions  is  that  a  commercial  element  exists  in  the  relation  of 
the  veterinarian  to  his  patient.  Save  in  comparatively  rare  instances, 
a  veterinarian's  client  won't  spend  more  on  a  patient  than  he  is 
worth.  " 
The  veterinarian's  prescriptions  usually  call  for  large  amounts  of 
often  expensive  drugs,  and  if  the  druggist  wants  to  hold  this  busi- 
ness a  little  concession  may  sometimes  be  necessary. 
Some  years  ago  I  wrote  a  prescription  for  one  ounce  of  quinine, 
divided  into  eight  powders.  The  dispenser  charged  the  unfortunate 
race-horse  owner  ten  dollars,  and  when  I  called  his  attention  to  the 
infernal  overcharge  I  was  told  that  his  price  for  quinine  in  prescrip- 
tions was  two  cents  a  grain,  and  that  in  his  opinion  the  dispensing 
charge  of  forty  cents  was  most  reasonable. 
Don't  renew  the  veterinarian's  prescriptions  without  orders.  If 
he  prescribes  a  combination  of  drugs  for  the  colic  of  Brown's  horse, 
it  does  not  follow  that  it  is  just  the  thing  for  Smith's  horse ;  it  may 
kill  the  horse,  lose  the  veterinarian's  custom  and  influence,  and  also 
the  good-will  of  the  horse  owner. 
Now  it  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  druggists  declare  that  the  veter- 
inarian is  poor  pay,  and,  for  that  reason,  not  a  dependable  customer. 
This  is  arrant  nonsense.  There  are  careless,  dishonest,  unscrupulous 
medical  men,  veterinarians,  and  druggists,  but  the  bulk  of  each  of 
these  professions  pay  their  bills ;  if  this  were  not  so,  the  manufac- 
turing pharmacists  and  biologists  would  have  to  get  out  of  business. 
It  is  the  man,  not  the  profession,  that  we  must  look  to.  That  doctors 
and  veterinarians  are  occasionally  slow  pay  is  true,  but  I  also  know 
that  a  good  many  druggists  are  on  the  C.  O.  D.  lists.  Believe  me, 
you  will  rarely  make  a  mistake  in  extending  to  a  young,  hard-work- 
ing veterinarian  of  good  habits  all  reasonable  credit. 
If  I  were  to  sit  down  and  write  all  my  clients  who  failed  to  remit 
in  thirty  days  that  I  had  drawn  on  them  at  sight  for  the  amount,  I 
should  soon  have  no  clients  to  draw  on. 
Another  way  to  attract  veterinary  business  is  to  carry  a  stock  of 
veterinary  biologicals.  We  use  more  biologicals  than  do  physicians, 
and  we  often  want  them  quickly.  Almost  all  of  us  prefer  to  buy  at 
home,  if  we  are  allowed  to  do  so,  and  a  wholesale  profit  on  doctors' 
