224 
Chamois  Skins. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
May,  1902. 
decimals ;  and  that  if  we  wish  to  popularize  the  metric  system 
in  this  country,  we  must  simplify  it  so  as  to  induce  people  to  think 
in  metric  quantities,  as  it  is  practically  impossible  to  think  of  quan- 
tities in  one  system  of  weights  and  measures  and  then  transpose 
them  into  another  with  any  appreciable  amount  of  facility  or  satis- 
faction. For  these  reasons  it  would  appear  desirable  to  use  equiva- 
lents that  not  only  differ  from  those  generally  accepted  but  also  fit 
in  better  with  a  decimal  system  of  notation. 
To  sum  up,  then,  the  proofs  and  arguments  that  have  been 
advanced  would  seem  to  indicate,  that  so  long  as  doses  of  medicines 
are  referred  to  as  being  spoonful  quantities,  spoons  will  be  largely 
used  as  medicine  measures.  If  spoons  are  used  to  measure  out  doses 
of  active  medicines,  it  would  appear  that  we  should,  at  least,  make 
some  effort  to  secure  greater  accuracy  and  uniformity  in  the  quanti- 
ties that  are  likely  to  be  administered.  For  this  purpose  the  adop- 
tion of  a  descriptive  definition,  indicating  the  approximate  amount 
that  is  intended  by  the  term  spoonful,  would  appear  to  offer  some 
possibility  of  securing  the  desired  results. 
As  regards  the  proposed  equivalents  for  tea,  dessert,  and  table- 
spoonful  it  would  appear  to  be  desirable  that  we  adopt  quantities 
that  will  fit  in  well  with  the  system  of  notation  used  in  the  metric 
system  of  weights  and  measures  ;  and  here  again,  if  doses  are  to  be 
referred  to  as  being  spoonful  quantities,  these  quantities  should 
conform  as  nearly  as  possible  with  the  actual  capacities  of  the  spoons 
that  they  are  supposed  to  represent. 
CHAMOIS  SKINS. 
THEIR  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MARKET  AND   THEIR  COMMERCIAL 
VARIETIES. 
By  Charges  C.  Drueding. 
In  presenting  this  article  the  writer  will  endeavor  to  place  before 
you  a  plain,  intelligible  treatise  on  this  subject,  as  he  understands 
it  from  his  experience  of  manufacture,  or  tanning  rather,  during  an 
experience  of  about  eighteen  years. 
The  name  chamois  skin  is  rather  a  misnomer ;  it  originates  from 
the  chamois  animal,  the  zoological  name  being  Rupricapra  Targus. 
This  animal  inhabits  the  European  Alps  and  Caucasian  Mountains 
and  resembies  a  goat  or  deer.    These  animals  are  very  shy,  and 
