A  January Pi 901 m  }      Pharmacists  Apparatus  Stand.  19. 
PHARMACISTS'  APPARATUS  STAND. 
By  J.  Percy  Remington,  B.S. 
A  stand  adapted  for  supporting  all  kinds  of  apparatus  used  in 
the  daily  work  of  the  store  and  laboratory  has  been  a  desideratum 
for  many  years. 
The  busy  pharmacist  has  to  perform  every  day  many  operations 
that  require  the  use  of  apparatus  of  various  size  and  shape.  Per- 
colation, filtration,  evaporation,  distillation  and  testing  all  require 
the  use  of  such  vessels,  and  the  problem  of  devising  a  stand  for 
holding  these  firmly,  and  in  the  proper  position,  is  one  of  far- 
reaching  importance. 
How  often  has  the  pharmacist,  harassed  by  a  multitude  of  exact- 
ing duties  and  interruptions,  started  an  operation,  and  after  care- 
fully selecting  the  materials  and  setting  up  the  apparatus,  had  the 
flimsy  stand  upon  which  he  was  depending  break  down  and  upset 
the  vessel,  thus  losing  time,  patience,  apparatus,  results  and  possibly 
a  suit  of  clothes.  Or  it  may  be  that  after  several  operations  have 
been  started  and  are  under  way  an  emergency  arises  and  a  sudden 
call  forces  the  operator  to  start  another  filtration ;  he  finds  that  his 
single  retort  stand  is  crowded  to  its  full  capacity,  and  he  looks 
despairingly  at  the  limited  counter  space  at  his  disposal,  which  he 
dare  not  encroach  upon. 
The  ordinary  ring  stand  has  been,  so  far,  the  only  means  of  sup- 
plying support  for  the  various  pieces  of  apparatus  in  constant  use 
by  the  pharmacist.  For  a  long  time  it  has  been  evident  that  a  new 
device,  which  would  satisfy  all  the  various  needs,  is  an  actual  neces- 
sity. These  ring  stands  are  constructed  of  a  rod  screwed  into  an 
iron  base,  the  ring  clamps  being  secured  to  the  upright  rod  by 
thumbscrews.  They  are  not  made  strong  enough  to  stand  the 
weight  which  is  often  put  upon  them,  the  number  of  positions  in 
which  the  rings  can  be  placed  is  very  limited,  and  they  do  not  vary 
sufficiently  in  size  to  be  of  equal  value  for  the  needs  of  all  stores. 
The  points  which  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  devising; 
something  which  will  fulfil  all  the  requirements  are :  That  the 
apparatus  shall  be  sufficiently  strong  to  support  a  heavy  weight 
likely  to  be  put  upon  it;  that  it  may  be  so  adjustable  that  the  rings 
may  be  put  in  any  position  necessary ;  that  it  may  be  compact 
enough  to  occupy  very  little  space  (and  this  to  be  the  least  valu- 
