, 1885-03-13
IN a DRUG STORE.
THE CARE REQUIRED TO AVOID FA-
TAI MISTAKES.
The Best Way to Avoid Making Mistakes
The Worst Possible Habit for a
Druggist to Acquire-shouId
Never Gossip.

New York Tribunel
Behind a neat prescription counter tho
druggist sat smoking a cigar and talking
with a friend on a moist evening when bust
ness in the drug store was less brisk than
usual Complex yet faint odors from the
hundreds of carefully labeled jars and bottles
on tho shelves mingled with the fragrance
Of tocacco smoke, and seemed to impart a
mysterious charm to the conversation. IL
have made It a point for thirty years" said
the druggist, ITO pay strict attention TO 4
prescription while I am compromising it, and
then TO drop it out Of my mind entirely.
That is the best way TO avoid making mis-
takes"
A girl with a shawl over her head came IN
and presented a bottle and a piece of paper
on which hor mother had written; please
send 8 cents with orinka for sore throte."
The druggist quietly poured some arnica
into the bottle, pasted on a Label, took the
proffered nickel and sat down TO resume his
talk.
"As was saying, l always forget u pre-
scription as soon as l have filed II. or
course Il Is numbered and preserved for
future references, but IL one Of my regular
customers should ask me to put up some
more medicine same as last, you know ]
would nave to send him home for the bottle
which had the number OF the prescription
III u ~ 4 AAAtlAADAEA ~ aA AAA
medicines / mix, l would soon be insane. A
druggist ought to feel that when he fills a
physicians order he holds the life of some
person in his hand. To mistake one drug for
another at such a time may cost a life. Such
mistakes result from carelessness as a rule,
not from ignorance, as most people think"
Dad wants q poor house blister" said a
boy who had entered the store unobserved.
@What does he want IL forf'
a2H - " -
pains ERR
"Do you mean a porous plasterl"
"Oh yessir."
AIN nine cases out OF ten, l believe" the
druggist said, when he had opportunity to
take up the thread OF his discourse again,
Hcarelessness and not Ignorance Is the cause
OF druggists mistakes. A druggist who
knows that he Is not proficient in the bust
ness will look carefully at every jar or bottle
which he uses in compromising an order. An
experienced druggist, unless he is a careful
man, will sometimes mistake one drug for
another which has a similar appearance, be-
cause no neglects 10 look at the label Such
errors happen more easily when a man per-
mits his counter to become Uttered with
drugs not wanted for Immediate uss.
It is safer 10 clear the counter after
each order Is filed. The worst possible
habit for a druggist, however, is to remem-
Der prescriptions already compounded.
When a man attempts the feat OF thinking
about an old prescription while he Is work
ing on a new one, he is in a fair way OF com
uniting a murderous blunder.n
Good evening. DOCTOR
A man with n long, thin nose, who had en-
tered softly, waited until the druggist had
walked from the prescription counter to the
front before he inquired in a low tone;
as there any sickness in Mr.. Pillbox's
fnmilyl SEQ his boy came in here a while
ago"
"If you wish to know about Mr.. Pillbox's
family you had better go and ask him. lido
not make a practice of retailing gossip about
my customers"
"Ahl Good evening""
"There Is another reason why a druggist
should forget his work when It Is finished"
said the compounder after the inquisitive
man had departed. "Such a practice
enable a man to keep the confidence of Gus
TONERS without trouble. Nothing Is more
fatal to the business of a druggist than a
well-founded belief among his neighbors
that he will gossip about persons who buy
drugs from him. It Is surprising how many
persons make attempts to get informa ton
from druggists about their neighbors. l
have given blunt answers In such cases, and,
curiously enough, many Of the persons who
have appeared 10 be most offended at my
refusals to give information have become
regular customers OF mine. In such cases
the golden rule can be followed with profit
us well as with pleasure"