no eireumstanees should the others be dotted, because in a hastily 

 written or blurred prescription the pharmacist often depends upon 

 the dots to differentiate an indistinct i from an 1 or a comma or 

 period, or from an imperfectly formed v. Fractions are written 

 as common fractions : gr. 1/10, not gr. 0.1. 



Table op Approximate or Popular Measures 



The popular measures are those usually found in the house- 

 hold. They are very inexact, and should be replaced with measur- 

 ing glasses or some other means of measure. A common method 

 in veterinary medicine is to use homeopathic vials of certain ca- 

 pacities, or syringes of known capacity. If sptfons are used they 

 should be filled so that the fluid stands level with the rim. 



The most common of these measures are : 



1 drop (gtt) = 1 minim 



1 teaspoonfuU ^ 1 f 3 



1 desertspoonful = 2 f 3 



1 talblespoonful = 4 f 3 (i/gg) 



■ 1 wiaeglassful = 2 f § 



1 teacupful = 4 f § 



1 glassful = 8 f g 



It should be kept in mind that these equivalents are only approxi- 

 mate. A drop is not a minim and varies greatly with the character 

 of the fluid, and of the container from which dropped ; there may 

 be from 44 drops of syrup of acacia, to 250 drops of chloroform to 

 the drachm. Teaspoons vary from 1/2 to 2 drachms, dessert spoons 

 vary so greatly that they should not be used. Tablespoons, wine- 

 glasses and tumblers also vary. 



It is usual in figuring prescriptions to figure from 6 to 8 tea- 

 spdonfuls to the ounce, a tablespoonful as one-half ounce and in 

 writing these prescriptions these factors should always be taken 

 into account so that the druggist will be able to use a bottle which 

 will just hold the amount desired. Their bottles are 1/2 ounce, 

 1 ounce, two, three, four, six, eight and sixteen 'ounces. 



Metric System 



This is based upon the decimal system. The unit of measure 

 of distance of the metric system is the meter (M). (39.37 inches). 



