constructed a small portable generator, weighing something between four and five pounds, which when filled with water, after exposing one or two cartridges of oxone, yields about 27 liters of gas per cartridge, the average dose for inhalation.

[Doctor von Foregger here exhibited his apparatus and demonstrated the generation of oxygen from oxone in the usual manner, making lighted cigars glow and otherwise showing the passage of the gas.]

PHARMACEUTICAL FLAVORS AND THEIR USES.'
BY WILBUR H. SCOVILLE, PH. G.
Boston, Mass.

We American druggists are prone to boast that we are ahead of the world in the art of pharmacy. It may be true, but I fear that there is a tendency among us to forget many of the small points which help to make the art as well as the science of pharmacy successful. The establishment within recent years of numerous colleges of pharmacy in all sections of this country has undoubtedly assisted materially in raising the standard of the science of pharmacy, but perhaps we have forgotten to pay enough attention to the art, and as it is the art which pays best in the commercial end of the business it is worth while to look into this branch of pharmacy a little more closely. Science is described as a development of truth, but art is the practical application of science or the application of science to a practical end.

THE PROPER USE OF FLAVORS.

In discussing the benefits of practicing the art as well as the science of pharmacy, however, I shall limit my remarks to the proper use of flavors purely from a pharmaceutical point of view. I realize that I myself am only an amateur in the study of proper flavoring, but I have learned from past experience that it is the privilege of an amateur to arouse interest in others, as well as that of an expert.

Now, if you wish to make your own private preparations good sellers, why not begin by making them appear better and taste better? The better they taste and appear the more urgent will be the demand for them. From a commercial viewpoint you can afford to neglect, to some degree, the medicinal and therapeutic effect if you can make your preparations more palatable. The users of your preparations will call for them more frequently because they taste well and look well rather than because they contain the most efficient drugs. Perhaps you never thought of it in this way before, but it is generally, true that some flavoring ought to go into all the medicinal preparations which you compound. You might think, for example, that there would be little effect resulting from the use of different flavors in preparing aromatic elixir, but I can show you no less than 30 different effects in 30 different preparations of aromatic elixir, all of them the result of the use of different flavors in varying proportions. Each manipulator makes a little modification in the taste of the finished elixir. Some of the preparations deserve approbation, but others condemnation. In other words, the art of flavoring shows individuality. In these elixirs before me (Professor Scoville pointed to 30 bottles on the table in front of him) some show individuality, but some of them also show carelessness. It is not only necessary to follow the formulas of the Pharmacopoeia, it is also necessary to use the best quality of materials, and extra pharmacopoeially to use proper flavoring-that is, flavoring most suited to the drugs used. Proper flavoring will make a lot of difference in the taste of the preparation. Stores which are careless about this subject are not likely to be as successful as those which pay attention to these details. The public says of a medicinal preparation: "If it tastes good it must be better than the preparation which tastes disagreeable." Now, knowing that this is the way the consumer regards your preparations, you should take pains in selecting proper flavors.

THE PURPOSE OF FLAVORING.

The purpose of flavoring is to blend the drugs and the flavor, 1 An address delivered before the Manhattan Pharmaceutical Association at the regular monthly meeting, March 19, and reported exclusively for the AMERICAN DRUGGIST.

or to render the drugs palatable. It is not the purpose of flavoring to conceal the drug. If you will consider for a moment the composition of a mixture of quinine, sulphuric acid, licorice and water, you will notice that the acid intensifies the taste of the quinine and neutralizes the effect of the licorice. If a preparation contains quinine it must necessarily be bitter. You cannot hope to eliminate wholly this bitter taste. You may modify it, but you cannot expect to get rid of it entirely. Therefore, as a general principle let me assert positively, that it is better art not to cover up a disagreeable drug but to get it to blend with the flavor used. If we have in front of us food which does not possess a good flavor, we try to dress it up with something pungent. We try, in other words, to make it agreeable. A chef always wins a good reputation by doing this very thing, why shouldn't the druggist?

In flavoring, moreover, you must first discover whether any one flavor will do the work required of it. A single substance will rarely or never give the best result. In fact, I don't know of a single oil which has a true flavor, all of itself. Even oil of almond hasn't a true almond flavor. It needs another element to make it more apparent. It needs a fixer to hold it. We have many examples of artistic preparations in the Pharmacopoeia, but we have become so familiar with them that we do not realize why they are so popular-why they are so artistic. Yet if you will examine them you will see that they have been properly flavored. For example, take the confection of senna. This is an old preparation-so old that it has fallen out of general use. If it were called "Fig Paste," and put up in attractive boxes and packages it would have a wide use. In this preparation we have two drugs—senna and cassia fistula. Now notice how the Pharmacopoeia renders the mixture palatable. It uses as a flavoring the fig and the prune. The drug flavor blends with these fruits. The fruits intensify the entire flavor and, to fix that flavor, a little oil of coriander is then used. It must be borne in mind, however, that it is difficult to select a proper fruit flavor in a medicine. A delicate fruit flavor needs something to stimulate the nerves of the mouth and to develop the flavor. At the soda fountain the fruit flavor tastes well because the gas gives it pungency and the cold also helps, but in drugs you cannot get an agreeable effect that way. If, however, you use a little oil of coriander, this will take the place in the orange or lemon oil flavoring of the cold and pungency in the soda water, making it more pleasant to the taste.

WINE TO BRING OUT LEMON AND OIL flavors.

No flavoring varies more widely than do orange and lemon oils. You can't make a chemical examination of all the oils you use, but you can make an examination as to their freshness. For myself, I prefer to use the tincture of fresh orange and lemon peel, but others may find some other way of procuring the pure oils. Even when you have a pure oil, however, you find that the taste is not that of the fresh orange or lemon. But if you will use a little wine, say about one-eighth wine, the wine is not noticeable, when it has been allowed to mellow, while the fruit taste becomes more pronounced and pleasant. Muscatel, Catawba and light white wines will serve this purpose excellently. Any good domestic or commercial wine is equally good. Port wine may also be used if you are willing to have a red color in the mixture. Sweet white wine, however, is the most desirable. Brandy or rum, in great moderation, may also be used to good effect in place of a portion of alcohol. It must be remembered, though, that the wines and liquors must be used in great moderation. While one-eighth of wine doesn't show, a trifle more than this will make the preparation vinous in taste.

FLAVORS FOR ACID MIXTURES.

In acid mixtures the acids naturally predominate. A fruity flavor, such as an orange flavor, blends with a wide variety of acid substances. When brandy is used as a fixer it must be used sparingly or else you will have a brandy flavor. If you use wine flavor in moderation, however, you will notice in tasting the mixture not wine but only the intensified fruit flavor. In the past, acetic ether has been used for the purpose of supply

ing a. fixer, but acetic ether is not as pleasant to the taste as wine or brandy.

CHLOROFORM FOR ALKALINE MIXTURE.

I

So much for acid mixtures; now let us consider alkaline mixtures. These are the most difficult mixtures to flavor. have learned that the best sweetener for alkaline mixtures is chloroform. This may be astonishing to you, but it is true that chloroform does brighten the mixture up and render it more palatable. Licorice is the flavor which is now used more than any other in alkaline mixtures, as the alkali develops the taste of the licorice, but I think that chocolate is better when it can be used. The more alkali there is in chocolate the more definite is the taste of the chocolate. Therefore chocolate and alkali make an excellent combination, especially when you use a little sugar as a sweetener. Salt can also be used, but the mixture must not be very sweet to stand the salt.

BROMIDES DIFFICULT TO DISGUISE.

For bromides, and other salts, carbon dioxide is the best flavoring agent. Besides making these preparations palatable it also aids by strengthening their therapeutic effect. Only two flavors appear to blend well with pronounced salty mixtures. These are vanilla and molasses. Vanilla flavoring will conceal the unpleasant taste, and molasses will also be found to be effective. The average person still likes molasses, although the day when we ate molasses on our bread appears to have gone. This is due, however, to the fact that we cannot get the same oldfashioned, pure molasses that we used to produce years ago. Therefore it is now frequently more advantageous to use brown sugar in flavoring. For the non-effervescent and for bitter drugs, however, molasses is better. Syrup of senna, for example, can be made very palatable with brown sugar and so can syrup of tar. The preparation with brown sugar is not colored except by the sugar itself. The brown sugar blends with the tar and the senna better than refined sugar. Chloroform also adds pungency to such preparations and does not remove any of their medicinal features. The sweetness is retained and yet no different or sharp flavor is introduced. It merely brightens up the entire mixture.

THE FLAVORING OF BITTERS.

In the flavoring of bitters there is considerable trouble experienced. The Pharmacopoeial tincture of gentian is an instance of artistic pharmacy in the line of aromatic bitters, the aromatics in this case being orange peel and cardamom. When the preparation contains strychnine the mixture can scarcely be made anything but bitter. Malt will go well with bitter drugs, but it is often less efficient than brown sugar. With an unpleasant bitter, like myrrh, a little salt will blend remarkably well, but the mixture must not be made too sweet. Moreover, too much salt must not be used. You must use just enough to brighten the mixture up. Aromatics must be used sparingly. It is always a mistake to attempt to cover up one pungency with another. It is better to work with opposites.

FLAVORS FOR EMULSIONS AND OILS.

In the National Formulary you will note many ways of preparing codliver oil so that the oil may be disguised. When you use aromatics you must use them sparingly. If you use too much of them you get first a pungent flavor and then a disgusting oil flavor, each of them separate and distinct. The French druggists use coffee as a flavoring for oils. I don't know whether this is desirable or not, but it shows that a soft flavor goes well with oils. A licorice emulsion, such as extract of licorice with a little lavender and peppermint in it, is frequently used, but lavender is a rank flavor and must be used sparingly. Oil of neroli is excellent for some combinations. In combination with aromatics like cinnamon, neroli goes extremely well. It pays to get the best quality of neroli. The flavor is more delicate in the best varieties and also more powerful, and in proportion does not cost more. Artificial oil of neroli, however, is often satisfactory. The mixture must not be too aromatic and, as a rule, it musn't be too sweet. It is well worth while to experiment with oil of neroli.

Next to licorice as a flavoring for oils I should put malt. Malt is very mild, but with brandy or chloroform it is very

attractive. In France brandy is especially recommended in oil mixtures. Saccharine or sugar can also be used to good advantage. Salt also goes well. Rose flavor is also good and with a little sassafras the rose flavor can be made more pronounced. Heliotropin is sometimes desirable and it tastes about as it smells. It has a flavor like that of almonds but is very persistent, and if you have in your mixture a drug which is very strong you cannot use this flavoring.

There is a very wide field, financially, for the druggist who will experiment along the lines of proper flavoring, and the possibilities are as unlimited as the science of drugs itself. Some of the most successful preparations on the market to-day have become so because their proprietors have experimented with their flavoring until they have given to the preparations an artistic finish. They have no better therapeutic effect than many other unsuccessful preparations, but they possess what the public wants a pleasant taste-and this can only be achieved by proper flavoring.

The Corpuscular Theory of Matter.'

BY PROF. J. J. THOMPSON.

Any new theory of matter must be able to explain all the chemical, optical and electrical properties of matter in a satisfactory manner. According to the new theory, that which we were accustomed to describe as an atom is supposed to be made up of positive and negative electricity, the latter taking the form of extremely small particles known as corpuscles. It was shown originally by Crookes that when an electric discharge is passed through a highly exhausted glass tube a light green fluorescence is produced in the glass immediately opposite the kathode or negative terminal by the impact upon the glass of a beam of luminous rays known as the kathode rays. That these rays were traveling in straight lines was shown by interposing in their path a plate of mica, cut in the form of a cross, when a shadow of the cross was produced upon the glass. By most continental physicists these kathode rays were regarded as vibrations of the ether, whereas English physicists favored the view that they were material particles or corpuscles. The latter theory has since been proved to be correct by the following three facts: First, the rays can be deflected by a magnet; secondly, when diverted against a hollow metal bowl within the vacuum tube the metal was found to assume a negative charge, as shown by connecting it to an electroscope; thirdly, the rays are deflected by electrostatic forces of attraction or repulsion. It has recently been shown by Wehnelt that kathode rays are also produced when calcium or barium oxides are heated to incandescence on a platinum foil in a vacuum. Rays produced in this way and allowed to impinge upon a metallic surface in the vacuum tube are readily shown to be deflected from their normal course in a parabolic orbit. As a result of careful quantitative measurements the velocity of the corpuscles is found to vary in different cases within very wide limits, being influenced both by the shape of the tube and the height of the vacuum. The corpuscles produced from incandescent calcium oxide travel much more slowly than those produced by means of the induction coil. The ratio of the electric charge (e) to the mass (m) of the corpuscles, however, is found to be a constant quality which is independent of their velocity or of the materials of which the electrodes are made or of the nature of the residual gas in the tube. From this it is argued that all substances emit the same corpuscles. This ratio e/m is found to be 1.7 x 10' C.G.S. units-i. e., 1,700 times as great as the corresponding value for the atom of hydrogen in electrolysis, which is 10 C.G.S. units. The difference must be attributed to one of two causes either the corpuscle bears a much greater charge than does the atom of hydrogen in electrolysis, or else its mass is very much less. Since, however, it has been proved by Prof. C. T. R. Wilson that the charges borne by the two are identical, the difference in the magnitude of the ratio e/m must be explained by assuming that the mass of the corpuscle is 1-1700th part of the mass of the atom hydrogen.

1 An abstract of a lecture delivered at the Royal Institution and printed in the Pharmaceutical Journal.

One would think that in New York novelties in soda fountain beverages would be found in abundance, but the reverse is true, and it is curious to note the lack of invention displayed by metropolitan pharmacists in this regard. What novelties there are appear to have come out of the South or West, and as most local pharmacists adhere to the policy of making their own soda syrups the result can be easily imagined. At a very busy fountain near a very busy thoroughfare we were told that the drinks which were featured by means of small painted signs hanging from the wall of the fountain had not been changed during the past ten years. At another fountain on Broadway at which the daily sales amount to 4,000 or 5,000 glasses nothing new had been offered for four years past. The novelties were mostly confined to egg drinks, as egg lemonade, egg chocolate, egg phosphate, etc. Indeed in New York the soda fountain trade seems to be permitted to drag along on the impetus first given to it.

According to John Teissel, manager of Hegeman & Co.'s soda fountain, the drinks which should always be kept on hand are chocolate, coffee, orange, vanilla, lemon, strawberry, raspberry, morella cherry, root beer and ginger ale. Where any considerable trade is done the list might be extended to include maple, peach, orgeat, wild cherry, grape fruit, sarsaparilla, celery phosphate, apricot and red cherry. Many of the drinks named are also served as phosphates. With those enumerated and the addition of a few tonics, a good headache cure, a good stomachic and bracer, the pharmacist should be well equipped to supply the needs of customers.

The statement in regard to the utter lack of inventiveness in the formulation of soda fountain beverages may perhaps bear modification since W. E. Beall, who has charge of the fountain in the Alper's pharmacy at the corner of Thirty-first street and Broadway, has introduced one or two novelties since his connection with the store. One of these is a fermented milk drink which he has named clabberade, from clabber, the name applied in the South to fermented milk. Other special drinks served at the Alper's fountain, which by the way is a Becker Twentieth Century, are sherry flip, sherry egg nog, spiced milk, coca cola, claret punch, claret cocktail, calisaya cocktail, egg claret, mint claret and hot eye opener, none of these containing any alcohol. Among the sundaes served are tutti frutti, chop suey, walnut, cocoanut, mixed nuts, fresh whole cherry, sliced peaches, fresh strawberry and sliced pineapple. Mr. Beall kindly contributes the following formulas:

The tomatoes should be cooked and the liquor strained and mixed with the other ingredients. The catsup serves to thicken and give an aromatic and tangy tone.

Notwithstanding the dearth of new ideas in soda fountain beverages we have been able through correspondence to bring together a goodly number of formulas, hints and suggestions for those who are prepared to develop and increase their trade in soda water beverages. As evidence of the lack of novelty the formulas submitted by Mr. Whitehill may be noted. We happen to know that these formulas were used successfully many years ago by one of the leading pharmacists on upper Broadway, and it is noteworthy that they are just as popular to-day as they were when first introduced. To our Western friends we are indebted for the only formulas which possess the merit of freshness and novelty.

There has been a notable increase in the consumption of ice cream, the manager of one large establishment informing us that four times the amount is now dispensed as compared with that sold two or three years ago. The introduction of the sundae is no doubt responsible in a large measure for this, and, speaking of the sundae, our readers will be interested in the explanation of the origin of the name which is offered by our Philadelphia correspondent. If not true, this explanation is surely ben trovato. Some readers may, however, be disposed to place more credence in another explanation of the origin of the word which refers it merely to the day on which the delicacy was invented.

Our Chicago correspondent advises us that light luncheons are becoming customary offerings at the soda fountain, these being supplied to patrons of the fountain at cheap rates along with hot drinks. At one fountain hot cakes are served. Many of the larger pharmacies dispense entirely with the soda fountain, by which we mean that no fountain is maintained. There is none in the Economical Drug Company's place, owing to the decided stand taken by Manager McConnell against anything of the kind. The Public Drug Company formerly had a fountain, but it is now no longer to be seen. Notwithstanding exceptions of this kind the druggists of Chicago generally make special efforts to cultivate the trade in fountain beverages and they control the cream of this business.

New York's Busiest Fountain.

One of the busiest soda fountains in New York is to be found in the Hegeman pharmacy, at 200 Broadway. The fountain is 37 feet long and fitted with innumerable faucets for carbonated waters and syrups. It was made for the Hegeman coporation by the Liquid Carbonic Acid Mfg. Company at a cost of $20,000. During the summer as many as 10,000 glasses of fountain beverages are dispensed daily. Even in winter the demand is enormous, the sales averaging 4,000 glasses daily.

In conversation with John Whitehill, assistant manager of Hegeman & Co., many interesting points were gleaned. The trouble with many druggists, according to Mr. Whitehill, is that they regard the soda fountain end of their business with their eyes out of focus. They have a general sort of idea it is a good thing, but they do not get down to hard pan and show their customers what they can do in this respect. Continuing, Mr. Whitehill said:

46

"Any druggist who has traveled must marvel at the amount of space and the prominent position which the fountain occupies in the large stores. A fair estimate would be to say that almost 25 per cent. of the floor space is given over to the fountain. The fountains themselves are marvels of construction. The appointments are the best, the products handled are the purest in the market, and the help are in a great measure thoroughly trained in this branch of the business.

"The time is now drawing near when the so-called soda season will be with us, and I have this to say to the druggist with the small fountain-get the right start. Hold a little conven

tion with yourself. With all your knowledge of what goes to make a palatable beverage, make a good start and keep it up all through the hot weather, and when the cool weather comes it will find you well prepared to serve hot beverages as well as the cold.

"Granting a neat. fountain, the druggist should have a responsible attendant. An inexperienced and slovenly attendant is always a source of dissatisfaction to customers and a detriment to the increase of the store's general business. Get the best attendant you can afford. Buy the best glasses. A good glass will outlast three or four of the cheap. Get pure concentrated syrup and dilute as wanted. Most of the manufacturers make very good products. Always make your own orange and lemon syrup and ice cream.

"For small stores I recommend the coffee and chocolate syrups as supplied by the manufacturers. I have tried several

of them and find them excellent for either hot or cold soda. Large stores can make their own from reliable goods at a much less cost.

"During the season druggists should buy strawberries and raspberries and make their own syrups. Wherever this has been done the soda business has been greatly increased, as there is nothing appeals to a thirsty person like whole fresh fruit in a soda. Keep the syrup as cold as possible. Have a few good tonics, bracers and appetizers always on hand.

"Charge 5 cents for ordinary soda; 10 cents for tonics, etc., and if possible serve your ice cream soda for 5 cents.

"Ice cream soda is profitable at 5 cents when made by the druggist, is one of the best advertising mediums of the modern drug store, and if you give the right drink it is a business bringer to the other parts of the store. I have in mind one druggist in my section whom I advised to charge 5 cents instead of 10 cents for soda. At the end of the year he had taken in more cash at 5 cents a glass than he had in former years at 10 cents and his general business had been increased one-third. This in spite of competition all around him, and the only additional ex

Allow to stand one week and filter.

ESSENCE OF ORANGE.
Oil of sweet orange..
The peel of one fresh orange.
Deodorized alcohol.

Let stand one week and filter.

.1 oz.

.15 oz.

Gathered by Our Correspondents.

The services of our regular correspondents here and in other countries were enlisted in the work of spreading before our readers the fullest information regarding the methods of pharmacists who have been successful in building up a profitable soda trade.

The soda fountain has not yet found a home in the Paris pharmacy, and our correspondent at the French capital, who was instructed to investigate the soda trade there, tells the story of an unsuccessful search for information. His experiences in search of a soda fountain are so entertaining and throw such an interesting light on national characteristics, as he recounts them, that we are glad to place them before our readers. Soda Fountains in Paris Pharmacies.

THE STORY OF AN UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH.

"A soda fountain in a Paris pharmacy; why, certainly, said my first informant. "There's a very smart one, by a London firm, I'm told, at the Pharmacie Britannique, in the rue Saint-Honoré. I forget the number, but it's at the rue Royale end, a stone's throw from the rue Castiglione, where the English pharmacies are."

I thanked him and followed his instructions. "I suppose it's because I haven't got the number," I said to myself, after staring on both sides of the busy little street in vain, and I went to make inquiries, at a pharmacy, of course. I always make inquiries at a pharmacy, because there you're certain to find some one who is both well informed and obliging, and my pharmacist, an Englishman evidently, was no exception to this well established rule.

"Yes, it was there all right enough," he said. "But it shut up some months ago. Didn't pay."

"And where can I find a pharmacy where there is one?" I asked.

"Not in Paris, so far as I know."

"Don't you think the experiment would succeed?" I inquired, "for the fact that there is a pharmacy about every 50 yards in the rue Saint Honoré may have had something to do with the nonsuccess of our friend here."

"I rather doubt it. You see the conditions are so very different. In the first place look at the room it takes up. You have noticed how small all the drug stores are in this (the Anglo-American) part of Paris. Rents are terribly high, and profits-well, they're not always like the rents, in spite of what outsiders say about us. Then, again, an American drug store or even an English chemist's is much more of a general shop than a Paris pharmacy. Why, Frenchmen are surprised I handle perfumery and hair brushes. You see they expect to find nothing in a pharmacy but actual remedies, and, I was going to say actual invalids or their messengers, quiet and often worried people, who want a discreet private sort of a place, whereas the American drug store, I take it, is more of a public institution and used for dozens of things besides the actual preparation and purchase of medicines."

"Then where do you think soda fountains could be placed in Paris?"