'•}    Dose  Measures  and  Measured  Doses.  123 
Table  No.  i.— CAPACITY  OF  SPOONS,  MEASURED  ACCORDING  TO  DEFINITION  OF 
FRENCH  CODEX. 
Tea. 
Dessert. 
Table. 
4-6 
H'5 
5'o 
14*3 
5'o 
IO'O 
14-8 
3  
4-8 
9-0 
I5'° 
4   •  •  • 
4-8 
9-0 
14-6 
4"9 
15' 
5*2 
9-4 
14-8 
4'9 
9-6 
I5"4 
In  this  connection  we  might  say  that  the  figures  given  are  the 
average  results  of  ten  spoonsful  of  alcohol,  it  having  been  found 
that  the  necessary  conditions  were  more  readily  obtained  with  this 
liquid  than  with  water. 
An  examination  of  the  table  will  reveal  the  tact,  that  when  meas- 
ured according  to  the  definition  of  the  French  Codex,  spoons  do 
not  vary  to  any  considerable  degree  in  their  capacity.  They  do, 
however,  differ  considerably  from  the  generally  accepted  equiva- 
lents as  popularly  used  in  this  country  at  the  present  time. 
The  results,  on  the  other  hand,  concur,  in  the  main,  with  the 
equivalents  given  by  the  writer  in  an  article  on  "  A  Metric  Medicine 
Glass,"  published  in  the  Am.  Jour,  of  Phar.  for  November,  1901. 
In  this  connection,  the  writer  would  like  to  call  attention  to  the 
desirability  of  recognizing,  in  an  official  way,  the  fact  that  the 
capacities  of  spoons  in  use  at  the  present  time  conform  very  closely 
to  metric  quantities,  Another  point  that  the  writer  should  be 
pleased  to  see  taken  up  for  discussion,  is  the  question  of  definite 
values  for  the  various  approximate  measures  in  the  metric  system. 
This  would  appear  to  be  a  timely  problem  and  one  that  should  be 
decided  in  some  official  method.  At  the  present  time,  if  a  physician 
writes  a  prescription  in  the  metric  system,  and  abbreviates  his  direc- 
tions to  "  5  c.c.  T.  I.  D.,"  the  pharmacist  almost  invariably  tran- 
scribes this  as  "  One  and  one-third  teaspoonful  three  times  a  day," 
much  to  the  contusion  of  the  patient  and  also  to  the  chagrin  of  the 
physician,  who  accuses  the  druggist  of  being  behind  the  times,  and 
not  understanding  the  system  of  weights  and  measures  according  to 
which  he  is  supposed  to  prepare  his  preparations. 
