174 
The  Metric  System. 
Am.  Joar.  Pharm. 
April,  1904. 
"  No  metallic  substance  should  come  in  contact  with  unguentum 
hydrargyri  nitratis. 
"  Chloroform  and  menthol  are  insoluble  in  glycerin. 
"A  new  label  must  on  no  account  be  pasted  over  an  old  one;  for- 
mer directions  and  labels  must  be  removed. 
"  Hydrochloric  acid  is  a  safe  expedient  for  removing  stains  from 
the  hands. 
"  The  art  of  keeping  tinctures  of  a  uniform  color  is  to  reserve  an 
eighth  part  of  the  old  make  and  add  to  it  the  fresh  preparation. 
Tincture  of  orange-peel  may  be  taken  as  an  example. 
"  Tabulate  doses  of  potent  remedies ;  the  rest  may  be  learned  by 
constant  reference. 
"  Hesitate  before  giving  an  opinion  as  to  whether  a  preparation  is 
used  or  not.  This  is  an  affair  of  locality  ;  if  in  your  district  there  is  no 
demand  for  a  certain  article,  it  may  be  extensively  used  elsewhere. 
"  Before  actual  dispensing,  write  the  labels.  When  a  prescription 
contains  various  preparations,  make  the  suppositories  first  (if  any) 
and  set  any  infusion  not  in  readiness.    Time  is  thus  economized. 
"  It  is  against  all  rules  of  pharmacy  to  substitute  one  substance 
for  another  in  case  of  being  out  of  a  particular  drug." 
THE  METRIC  SYSTEM. 
SOME  NOTES  ON  HERBERT  SPENCER'S  OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  USE  OF 
DECIMALS. 
BY  M.  I.  WlI,BERT. 
Apothecary  at  the  German  Hospital,  Philadelphia. 
The  objections  made  by  the  late  Herbert  Spencer  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  metric  system  of  weights  and  measures  into  England 
are  in  their  nature  so  far-reaching  that  some  additional  information 
regarding  them  may  not  be  out  of  place  at  the  present  time.  This 
is  particularly  true  in  view  of  the  fact  that  a  bill  for  the  speedy  and 
compulsory  introduction  of  the  metric  system  has  but  recently 
passed  second  reading,  without  a  single  objection,  in  the  British 
House  of  Lords. 
That  Mr.  Spencer  himself  was  sincere  in  his  objections  is  evidenced 
from  the  provisions  he  made  in  his  last  will  and  testament ;  where 
it  was  found  that  he  directed  that  if  at  any  time,  after  his  death,  a 
concerted  effort  should  be  made  to  introduce  a  decimal  system  of 
