Table.
20 grains equal 1 scruple
3 scruples " 1 dram
8 drams " 1 ounce
12 ounces " 1 pound
The pound is the same as the pound Troy. Medicines are bought and sold in
quantities by Avoirdupois Weight.
[NURSING DEPARTMENT 637]
1 grain equals 1 drop or 1 minim
60 grains or drops " 1 teaspoonful
1 teaspoonful " 1 fluid dram
8 drams (or 8 teaspoonfuls) make 1 fluid ounce
2 tablespoonfuls make 1 fluid ounce
1/2 fluid ounce is a tablespoonful
2 fluid ounces is a wineglassful
4 fluid ounces is a teacupful
6 fluid ounces is a coffee cup
16 ounces (dry or solid) is a pound
20 fluid ounces is a pint
MEDICINE CHEST.--More important than the furnishing of the house is the
medicine chest. If you are beginning housekeeping let this be your first
consideration. Do not put it off because it is a little trouble and costs
a few dollars. Yon would not think of leaving your front room or your
"spare room" half furnished. Your health is of vastly more importance than
the looks of your best rooms. There may come a time when you cannot secure
the doctor for several hours or get into a drug store. Be prepared for
this emergency and either fix up a home-made box with shelves, etc., or
buy a regular medicine chest; in either case have a lock to it and the key
where you can find it but where the children cannot reach it.
We give below a few of the necessaries and you will of course add to this
list. One mother writes that she went to the store and bought several tiny
little bells and tied one of these bells around the neck of each of the
bottles in her medicine chest that contained poison. There was no danger
of her getting the wrong bottle in the dark. Contents of the Medicine
Chest.
Ten cents worth of Alum.
A small bag of Burnt Alum.
A small bottle of Castor Oil.
A small vial of Bichloride of Mercury Tablets.
A box of Boric Acid Powder.
A $mall bottle of Glycerin:
A bottle of Extract of Witch-hazel
A small bottle of Syrup of Ipecac.
A bottle of Whisky and one of Brandy.
A box of English Mustard.
Medicine glass.
A small box of Cold Cream.
Soft rubber Ear Syringe.
A Clinical Thermometer.
An Eye Stone.
A pad, pencils, and labels.
A small bottle of Carbolic Acid.
A roll of Adhesive Plaster.
A small box of Pineoline Salve.
A bottle of Arnica.
Hung near the chest should be a fountain syringe with the rubber catheter
for use in irrigating the bowels and a hot water bag.
[638 MOTHERS' REMEDIES]