28 
THE  DRUG  BUSINESS  IN  SWEDEN. 
the  physician  of  the  district  was  carefully  weighed,  and  then  the 
phials  containing  it  sealed  up.  At  the  next  visitation  it  was 
weighed  again,  and  the  druggist  requested  to  show  the  original 
prescriptions  for  the  arsenic  missing.  When  no  arsenic  had  been 
sold,  the  seals  were  of  course  not  disturbed.  A  journal  was  also 
kept,  in  which  account  was  kept  of  all  arsenic  bought  and  sold. 
All  prescriptions  for  the  least  quantity  of  any  remedial  agent, 
which  belonged  to  the  poison  closet,  were  kept  by  the  druggist 
and  never  renewed,  except  on  special  order  from  the  physician. 
For  instance,  a  mixture  containing  one  grain  of  extract  of 
hyoscyamus  to  four  ounces  of  some  innocent  cough  syrup  could 
not,  according  to  law,  be  renewed.  All  other  prescriptions  for 
non-poisonous  preparations  were  invariably  returned  to  the  cus- 
tomers. When  furnishing  a  prescription,  the  preparer  of  it  was 
obliged  to  mark  down  on  it  the  price  of  each  separate  article 
entering  into  its  composition,  and  then  the  cost  of  labor,  bottle 
and  capping  and  label  beside  ;  this  long  column  of  numbers 
was  then  summed  up,  and  the  figurer  put  his  name  under  the 
sum,  and  was  thus  responsible  for  its  correctness,  as  well  as  for 
the  preparation  itself.  Here  are  samples  of  the  valuation  of 
prescriptions  : 
R    4  Extr.  hyoscyami,  gr.  vj.        1  R  Sulph.  zinci,  gr.  x. 
6  Aquge  foeniculi,        ^ij.       2       Aquae  destillat.  gviij. 
4  sol.    Solve,  adde.  4  sol. 
8  Syrup,  althsese.  4  capp.  m.  f.  sol. 
24  Decoct,  senegse,  aa.  ^i.       12  phial. 
4  capping,  cork  and  label.  — 
9  phial.  23  ore.  X.  Y.  Z. 
59  ore.  X.  Y.  Z. 
R  1  Pulv.  nitrat.  kalic.  gr.  v. 
1  "  rad.  ipecac,  gr.  j. 
3  "  opii  depurat.  gr.  ss. 
7  mixing. 
6  powd.  papers,  m.  f.  pulv.  dr.  tal.  doses,  No.  vj. 
18  ore.  X.  Y.  Z. 
One  American  cent  is  about  equal  to  three  Swedish  ores. 
