4i6 
Drug  Store  Conveniences. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(  September,  1909. 
was  bought  from  a  department  store  for  seventy  cents.  The  handle 
was  removed  and  a  round  hole,  one  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter, 
punched  in  the  centre  of  the  lid,  after  which  the  top  was  depressed 
towards  the  centre  by  using  considerable  pressure. 
The  pot  is  now  complete  but  a  brush  must  be  provided.  It  was 
impossible  to  find  a  suitable  brush  which  was  not  bound  in  a  metal 
which  would  rust,  but  selecting  one  which  would  readily  pass 
through  the  opening  in  the  lid,  the  metal  was  first  shellacked,  then 
wrapped  closely  with  twine  from  the  bristle  to  the  wood,  and  this 
in  turn  was  heavily  shellacked  with  two  or  more  coats.  A  disk  of 
rubber,  about  one- fourth  inch  thick,  was  now  cut  from  a  rubber 
cork,  two  inches  in  diameter,  a  small  hole  punched  in  the  centre, 
and  the  brush  handle  passed  through  this.  When  the  brush  is 
standing  in  the  pot  the  rubber  disk  effectually  excludes  air  and 
prevents  the  paste  from  drying,  and  when  the  brush  is  to  be  used 
the  excess  of  paste  may  be  wiped  oft  as  it  is  withdrawn. 
The  advantages  of  this  pot  are  as  follows :  (i)  As  long  as  well- 
made  paste  is  in  the  pot  it  is  ready  for  use;  it  will  not  dry;  (2)  the 
pot  does  not  rust  nor  discolor  the  paste  and  acids  will  not  attack 
it,  although  alkali  will  cause  the  metal  to  darken;  (3)  hot  paste  may 
be  poured  into  the  pot  without  danger  of  breaking  or  the  paste 
may  even  be  cooked  in  the  kettle  ;  (4)  the  brush  may  be  freed  from 
an  excess  of  paste  as  it  is  withdrawn  and  the  excess  drops  back 
into  the  pot. 
Its  convenience  and  satisfaction  far  outweigh  it£  original  cost 
which  was  as  follows:  pot,  70  cents;  punching,  10  cents;  brush,  15 
cents;  shellac,  5  cents;  rubber  cork,  25  cents;  total,  $1.25. 
A  Container  for  Purified  Cottox. — The  necessity  for  having 
purified  cotton  available  in  the  laboratory  and  yet  protected  from 
dust  has  developed  the  apparatus  here  described. 
A  box  was  made,  from  wood,  of  a  size  suitable  to  hold  a  pound 
roll  of  purified  cotton.  The  lid  was  hinged  and  slots  cut  in  each 
end  so  that  a  stove-bolt  which  was  to  serve  as  the  axis  of  the  cotton 
roll  could  be  slipped  into  place. 
It  was  found  necessary  to  devise  means  of  preventing  the  cotton 
from  unrolling  by  its  own  weight  or  when  a  bunch  was  pulled  from 
it,  and  the  first  step  was  therefore  to  fasten  the  end  of  the  roll  of 
cotton  to  the  bolt.  This  was  accomplished  by  fastening  a  long, 
thin  piece  of  steel  at  one  end  of  the  bolt,  slipping  the  cotton  under 
this,  and  then  clamping  it  at  the  other  end  by  means  of  a  ring  which 
