Metric  Medicine  Glass. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharrn. 
l   December,  1901. 
polished  article.  To  compare  the  difference  between  a  pure  and 
loaded  sponge,  take  a  2-ounce  sponge  of  each  grade,  wetting  them 
both  up,  and  it  will  be  found  that  the  pure  article  will  measure 
about  nineteen  inches  in  circumference,  or  thereabouts.  The  loaded 
article  in  comparison  will  only  measure  about  sixteen  inches  in  cir- 
cumference and  less.  Of  course,  this  will  largely  depend  upon  the 
amount  of  foreign  matter  contained  therein,  the  average  herein 
given  being  taken  from  a  bale  of  each  kind  and  measured.  Take  a 
sponge  of  equal  weight,  say  2  ounces,  costing  $4  a  pound  and  pure, 
and  a  loaded  sponge  at  $3  per  pound,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  by 
washing  them  out  you  are  getting  a  larger  sponge  in  the  2-ounce 
pure  than  in  the  2-ounce  loaded,  and  therefore  the  cost  is  practically 
equal,  despite  the  fact  of  there  being  $1  difference  per  pound  in  the 
price.  A  bale  of  pure  sponges  averaging  eight  to  the  pound  at  $4. 
a  pound  will  be  as  large  if  not  larger  than  a  loaded  bale  about  six 
to  the  pound,  at  $3  per  pound.  The  cost  of  both  of  these  per 
sponge  is  50  cents.  The  purchasing  of  loaded  sponges  should, 
therefore,  be  avoided,  it  being  iilustrated  that  as  good  value,  if  not 
better,  can  be  obtained  by  paying  the  higher  price. 
Many  dealers  are  now  offering  sheepswool  by  the  piece,  a  stated 
number  of  sponges  being  packed  in  a  bale,  and  this  method  is  com- 
manded, saving  the  retailer  the  trouble  of  figuring  the  individual 
cost  of  each  sponge,  and  sometimes  unconsciously  losing  their  profits 
by  not  taking  into  consideration  the  difference  of  gross  weight  at 
which  the  sponges  are  usually  purchased  and  the  net  weight,  and 
even  a  possible  loss  from  the  sponges  drying  out.  In  this  connec- 
tion we  would  say  that  sponges  in  bales  absorb  the  humidity  in  the 
summer-time,  and  are  usually  more  or  less  damp,  whereas,  in  the 
winter-time,  they  lose  in  weight,  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  air. 
A  METRIC  MEDICINE  GLASS. 
By  M.  I.  Wilbert. 
Apothecary  at  the  German  Hospital,  Philadelphia. 
One  of  the  most  potent  reasons  why  the  metric  system  of  weights 
and  measures  has  not  made  more  rapid  progress  in  general  favor 
or,  what  to  us  pharmacists  is  of  more  importance,  in  the  practice  of 
medicine  and  pharmacy,  is  the  fact  that  the  general  public,  and  even 
doctors  and  some  druggists,  have  no  well-developed  ideas  of  metric 
