122  Dose  Measures  and  Measured  Doses.  {AD,MS;Sm' 
Of  late  years,  the  number  and  variety  of  graduated  medicine 
measures  has  not  only  increased,  but  improvements  in  the  methods 
of  manufacture  have  materially  reduced  their  price. 
Among  the  first  graduated  medicine  measures  was  a  porcelain 
spoon  graduated  in  quantities  of  tea,  dessert  and  tablespoons.  The 
one  on  the  table  is  of  English  manufacture,  and  a  fair  sample  of  the 
way  these  lines,  or  graduations,  are  usually  found. 
The  next  step  in  the  evolution  of  a  cheap  medicine  measure  was 
a  molded  tumbler  with  lines  on  the  outside  of  the  glass.  As  illus- 
trated by  the  samples  on  the  table,  Jhese  measures  were  usually  very 
crude  and  rather  ungainly.  A  decided  improvement,  so  far  as  accu- 
racy in  indicating  the  contents  of  these  measures  is  concerned,  was 
made  when  the  lines  were  put  on  the  inside  of  the  glass.  To  do 
this  it  was  of  course  necessary  to  engrave  corresponding  depressions 
in  the  plunger  used  for  molding  the  glass.  The  resulting  lines  are 
never  very  heavy,  and  often  become  entirely  obscured  when  we 
attempt  to  measure  dark  or  viscid  liquids. 
Hand-graduated  tumblers  are  not  to  be  forgotten;  but  these* 
especially  in  the  earlier  days,  were  rather  expensive  and  not  within 
the  reach  of  any  but  the  more  opulent.  At  the  present  time,  prob- 
ably the  most  popular  variety  of  a  cheap  tumbler  is  a  combination 
having  the  lines  engraved  on  the  outside  of  the  glass,  while  the 
quantities  are  indicated  by  molded  numbers. 
Before  passing  to  a  critical  examination  of  these  various  measures, 
let  us  revert  a  few  moments  to  the  subject  of  spoons  as  measures  of 
capacity.  A  spoonful  is  defined  in  English  dictionaries  as  being  as 
much  as  a  spoon  will  hold.  This  rather  loose  definition  is  accepted 
as  authoritative,  in  so  far,  at  least,  that  every  one  using  a  spoon  for 
measuring  is  allowed  to  put  his  or  her  own  construction  on  what  is 
meant  by  it.  The  French  Codex,  so  far  as  the  writer's  knowledge 
goes,  is  the  only  authoritative  work  that  defines  exactly  what  is 
intended  by  the  term  spoonful.  This  book  says,  '  A  spoon  is  full 
when  the  liquid  is  on  a  level  with,  but  does  not  show  a  curve  above 
the  upper  edge  or  rim  of  the  bowl." 
Using  this  definition  as  our  guide,  we  have  made  a  number  of 
examinations  of  spoons  as  found  in  use  at  the  present  time.  The 
results  thus  obtained  have  been  grouped  in  Table  No.  I. 
