542  Indexing  for  Pharmacists.  {^'"n{,v"/i8^o.^™' 
quality  of  stiff  ledger  paper,  cut  to  the  size  of  postal  cards,  standing  on 
edge  like  envelopes  in  a  box,  and  arranged  in  a  strictly  alphabetical 
order  ;  being  put  in  loosely  they  can  be  moved  backward  and  forward, 
swinging  on  their  lower  edges,  and  easily  read  without  lifting  from  the 
box  unless  one  wishes  to.  I  do  not  see  what  Mr.  Wilder's  card  press 
can  be,  nor  do  I  see  any  necessity  for  one. 
Note-books,  scrap-books  and  others  of  that  ilk  are  good  enough  so 
far  as  they  go,  but  they  do  not  go  far  enough  ;  they  are  practically  use- 
less without  an  index,  and  how  few  of  them  ever  have  one.  In  using 
the  index,  as  a  scrap-book,  1  paste  the  scrap  on  a  card,  leaving  room  at 
the  upper  edge  for  a  catch-word.  If  the  scrap  is  too  long  for  one  side 
of  the  card  I  turn  up  the  lower  end  and  paste  it  upon  the  back  ;  if  too 
large  for  one  card  I  paste  it  upon  two,  tying  them  together  by  the 
coiners  with  a  piece  of  thread.  If  too  large  for  two  cards  I  fold  it, 
put  it  in  a  cheap  envelope,  and  with  a  note  of  its  contents,  or  a  number 
on  the  upper  edge,  file  it  away  in  my  envelope  index,  which  is  arranged 
exactly  like  the  other,  making  a  note  of  the  fact  in  my  card  index.  A 
box  of  cheap  manilla  envelopes  can  be  bought  at  a  very  low  price,  and 
are  much  better  than  any  scrap-book.  If  you  must  have  a  scrap-book 
do  not  buy  a  clumsy  thing  at  the  stores,  but  get  some  sheets  of  good 
stiff  paper  the  size  you  want,  number  each  sheet  and  paste  your  scraps 
only  on  one  side^  and  as  soon  as  you  have  done  it  do  not  forget  to  index 
it  or  it  loses  the  most  of  its  value.  Index  in  this  way  :  Squills,  syr. 
of,  S.  B.,  7.2.^.  ;  /.  syrup  of  squills,  scrap-book,  page  7,  second  column 
and  fourth  scrap  (or  still  better,  -^^  of  the  length  of  the  column  from 
the  top). 
The  contents  of  my  old  note-books  and  books  of  formulas  I  have 
transcribed  on  cards,  each  item  or  fact  upon  a  separate  card  and  placed 
in  my  index — items  or  formulas  that  at  one  time  were  scattered  around 
in  different  books  so  that  it  would  have  taken  one  a  long  time  to  gather 
them  together  for  comparison,  etc.,  are  now  in  one  place,  and  I  can  lay 
my  finger  upon  any  of  them  in  a  moment. 
One  advantage  of  having  formulas  written  upon  these  cards  is  that 
they  can  be  taken  out  and  pinned  up  against  ihs  wall  or  shelf  in  front 
of  the  person  using  them,  and  out  of  the  way  of  dirty  hands,  a  wet  counter 
or  sloppy  dishes  ;  when  done  with  they  are  put  back  in  their  proper 
place.  When  a  formula  hhs  become  out  of  date  or  is  succeeded  by  a 
better  one  it  can  be  thrown  away  and  the  new  one  put  in  its  place.  By 
going  over  it  occasionally  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  sift  out  what  is  no 
