^a^iSt™"}  Standard  Eye  Dropper.  125 
whose  tip  or  point  having  a  diameter  of  2-oo  to  3*50  mm.  will  most 
nearly  drop  60  drops  of  an  aqueous  solution  to  the  drachm.  This 
allows  an  inclination  of  the  dropper  of  45  0  to  the  horizon.  A  drop 
always  bears  a  direct  ratio  in  size  to  the  surface  from  which  it  drops, 
so  that  in  a  curved  dropper  the  solution  follows  the  curve  to  the 
point  of  rest  and  gives  rise  to  a  larger  drop  than  if  dropped  from 
the  point.    The  same  is  true  of  beaded  droppers. 
Curved  and  beaded  droppers  should  never  be  given  to  drop  solu- 
tions containing  poisonous  alkaloids,  as  they  always  give  a  surface 
having  a  diameter  of  over  2-50  mm.,  and  therefore  drop  more  than 
one  drop  or  one  minim. 
Another  point,  eye  droppers  having  the  dark  rubber  nipples  are 
far  superior  to  those  having  red  or  white  nipples,  because  the  former 
are  less  sensitive  or  delicate  to  the  touch.  The  rubber  nipples 
should  always  be  cleansed  to  rid  them  of  rubber  dust  or  sulphur 
contained  therein.  So  then  the  dropper  having  a  straight  tip  2-00 
to  3  50  mm.  in  diameter  with  a  black  cr  dark  rubber  nipple  is  the 
one  to  prescribe  with  alkaloid  solutions. 
THE  DESIRABILITY  OF  A  STANDARD  EYE  DROPPER. 
After  the  reading  of  Dr.  Schwenk's  paper  on  "  The  Size  of  the 
Dropper  as  Applied  to  Alkaloids  in  Eye  Drops  "  at  the  Pharmaceu- 
tical Meeting  on  January  ioth,the  following  remarks  were  made: 
DR.  WENDELL  REBER 
said : 
"  I  quite  agree  with  Dr.  Schwenk  as  to  the  desirability  of  having 
a  standard  dropper,  if  that  were  practicable.  Unfortunately  that  does 
not  yet  seem  feasible.  What  with  solutions  varying  from  alcoholic  to 
viscid  in  character  and  of  all  grades  of  specific  gravity,  it  does  not 
seem  now  possible  to  bring  either  the  public  or  the  pharmacist  to 
the  point  that  they  will  be  willing  to  take  the  trouble  to  discrimi- 
nate between  droppers  for  aqueous  and  those  for  other  liquids.  For 
a  numbers  of  years  I  have  felt  the  need  of  protecting  the  public 
against  the  poisonous  effects  of  the  powerful  drugs  used  in  eye  work 
that  may  result  from  the  use  of  droppers  with  too  large  an  aper- 
ture. So  far  it  has  been  possible  to  avoid  this  by  resorting  to  a 
simple  practical  measure.    It  is  my  invariable  rule  in  hospital  or 
