228  Aquae  Amygdake  Amarce.  { ^^May.^'iSr"'' 
In  the  minim  we  have  very  little  variance^  the  condition  of  temper- 
ature being  almost  the  only  cause  for  variations  in  volume,  and  this 
will  be  so  small  as  to  make  no  practical  difference. 
If  the  minim  was  the  universal  unit  of  small  measure,  we  should 
then  know  that  in  prescribing  one  minim  we  would  be  giving  exactly 
one-sixtieth  part  of  a  fluidrachm. 
For  example,  in  giving  one  minim  of  tincture  of  digitalis  we  know 
that  we  are  giving  exactly  one-sixtieth  part  of  a  fluidrachm  of  tincture 
of  digitalis  rather  than  that  we  are  giving  perhaps  one  one-hundred 
and  twentieth  part  of  a  fluidrachm  when  we  prescribe  one  drop  of  the 
same  tincture.  If  the  minim  was  always  recognized,  chloroform,  ether 
and  many  other  volatile  liquids  could  then  be  given  with  much  more 
quantitative  exactness  than  under  the  old  way,  and  thus  many  mistakes- 
would  perhaps  be  obviated,  many  explanations  saved,  and  perhaps 
many  patients  benefitted. 
Let  the  minim,  then,  be  used,  regulating  our  doses  accordingly,  and 
thus  guarding  against  any  misunderstanding  in  the  meaning  of  our 
prescriptions. 
Bloddey  Hospital^  \ 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  April  11th,  1881.  j 
AQUA  AMYGDALAE  AMAR.E,  U.  S.  P. 
By  G.  a.  Zwick. 
Keferring  to  the  just  criticism  of  Stille  and  Maisch,  in  the  National 
Dispensatory,  on  this  preparation  as  made  from  the  oil  of  bitter 
almonds,  the  undersigned  places  before  the  readers  of  the  Jouknal 
some  experiments  made  and  results  arrived  at  with  this  water  made 
from  bitter  almonds  and  also  from  peach  kernels,  i.  e.,  peach  seeds. 
First  Experiment — 2  lbs.  bitter  almonds  were  powdered,  the  fixed  oil 
expressed  (yield  8  fluidounces  oil),  the  press  cake  was  powdered,  mace- 
rated for  12  hours,  and  then  treated  according  to  formula,  page  209 
(page  212  of  second  edition)  National  Dispensatory,  by  placing  it  in  a 
copper  still  with  so-called  "  excelsior  packing  for  a  bed,  on  which  the 
magma  was  laid,  in  a  cloth  ;  twenty  fluidounces  were  distilled  over  and 
examined  for  hydrocyanic  acid  by  the  silver  test ;  of  1  per  mille 
was  found,  being  short  of  the  required  amount;  upon  further 
search  it  was  found  the  bitter  almonds  had  sweet  almonds  mixed 
among  them. 
