Am'juiy,r'i9ih9.rm'  )      A  Standard  Dosage  Measure.  4i7 
more  scientific  practice  should  be  always  adopted,  of  prescribing 
doses  in  mils,  fluidrachms  or  minims,  to  be  measured  with  a  suitable 
medicine  measure.  The  following  are  the  values  conventionally 
attached  to  the  several  approximate  measures  above  mentioned : 
"  Metric. 
A  teaspoonful  =  4  mils. 
A  dessertspoonful  =  8  mils. 
A  tablespoonful     =  15  mils. 
"  Apothecaries'  System. 
A  teaspoonful 
A  dessertspoonful 
A  tablespoonful 
=  1  fluidrachm. 
=  2  fluidrachms. 
=  \  fluidounce." 
The  use  of  the  equivalents  as  stated  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  has  given 
entire  satisfaction  and  their  general  acceptance  indicates  such  a  firm 
establishment  that  they  should  be  permanently  continued. 
Doubtless  if  the  Pharmacopoeia  had  gone  one  step  further  and 
described  "  a  suitable  medicine  measure,"  the  manufacturers  of  such 
wares  would  have  adopted  this  as  a  standard  and  the  uncertainty  of 
the  dosage  of  liquid  medicines  and  the  use  of  the  unreliable  spoons 
and  medicine  glasses,  before  this  time,  would  have  been  largely 
curtailed. 
The  necessity  for  standardizing  the  measure  as  well  as  the  equiv- 
alents of  the  doses  in  order  that  the  uncertainty  of  the  dosage  of 
medicines  may  be  terminated,  is  thus  presented.  It  is  not  creditable 
to  the  medical  profession  and  to  the  intelligence  of  this  generation 
that  the  inaccuracy  of  the  administration  of  liquid  medicines  has 
existed  for  so  long  a  time  and  still  less  so  that  it  be  permitted  to 
continue.  The  purpose  of  this  communication  is  to  present  a  study 
of  this  necessity  that  has  led  the  writer  to  design  a  Standard  Dosage 
Measure. 
What  are  the  essentials  for  such  a  measure  ?  The  doses  that  are 
commonly  prescribed  and  which  must  necessarily  be  shown  on  the 
measure  claim  first  consideration.  Experience  advises  that  these 
are  certain  numbers  of  standard  drops  or  minims,  such  as  5,  10,  15, 
20,  30;  the  teaspoonful,  and  at  times  fractions  thereof,  such  as 
one-fourth,  one-half ;  the  dessertspoonful ;  the  tablespoonful  and 
occasionally  the  wineglassful.  These  with  their  metric  equivalents 
it  was  concluded  should  be  indicated  upon  the  measure. 
