.Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
September,  1909.  / 
Drug  Store  Conveniences. 
415 
It  may  be  that,  as  is  now  clone  with  sera,  a  time  limitation  may  be 
feasible,  or  it  may  be  that  the  future  pharmacy  will  in  reality  be  a 
pharmacologic  laboratory  where  the  action  as  well  as  the  nature 
of  a  medicament  will  be  determined  before  it  is  dispensed.  At  all 
events  it  will  be  criminal  to  continue  in  our  present  slipshod  manner 
of  dispensing"  medicaments  of  unknown  composition  or  unknown 
uses  when  we  have  at  our  command  the  possibility  of  developing  a 
science  that  will  insure  a  true  indication  and  a  safe  guide  in  the 
administration  of  active  medicaments. 
DRUG  STORE  CONVENIENCES. 
By  E.  Fullerton  Cook. 
A  New  Paste-pot. — The  paste-pot  of  the  average  drug  store  is 
the  source  of  much  annoyance ;  it  is  frequently  unsightly  and  the 
paste  in  poor  condition,  and  if  it  is  to  be  kept  otherwise  it  requires 
daily  attention.  The  paste  is  usually  homemade,  either  from  flour, 
starch,  or  dextrin,  with  small  amounts  of  alum,  aluminum  sulphate, 
and  preservatives,  and  there  are  an  abundance  of  good  formulas 
available.  But  the  practical  difficulty  arises  when  the  paste  begins  to 
dry  on  the  surface,  about  the  edges  of  the  pot,  and  on  the  brush, 
and  then  small,  hard  particles  get  into  the  paste  as  it  is  spread. 
The  shape  and  style  of  the  pot  here  suggested  are  not  new.  A 
few  years  ago  a  glass  pot,  similar  in  shape,  was  offered  for  sale  by  a 
large  sundry  house,  but  the  metal  top,  which  screwed  on,  was  made 
of  sheet  metal,  nickel  plated,  and  in  a  few  weeks  began  to  rust,  dis- 
coloring the  paste  and  continually  sprinkling  small  particles  of  rust 
on  the  surface,  and  an  earlier  experience  with  a  similar  pot  had 
been  that  hot  paste,  poured  into  the  glass  container,  caused  it  to 
break. 
This  inconvenience  and  the  inability  to  find  on  the  market  any- 
thing meeting  the  demand  have  brought  about  the  devising  of  the 
pot  here  described  which  has  proven  entirely  satisfactory,  after 
four  months  of  use. 
A  quart,  pure  aluminum  kettle,  having  an  aluminum  lid  which 
slipped  on  but  fitted  tightly,  the  lid  and  the  body  of  the  kettle  being 
each  drawn  from  one  piece  of  sheet  aluminum  and  very  strong. 
