Dear Colleagues,

I have been studying the microfiches of Hahnemann's Paris casebooks for around 7 or 8 years. My wife has become very good at deciphering the handwritings of Samuel and Melanie and translating the French to English. We have come across a set of three abbreviations for the spoons used by Hahnemann in Paris. These are:

1. c a b for Cuillere a bouche; the tablespoon.
2. p c or pet c for Petit cuillere; the small spoon.
3. c c for Cuillere a cafe; the coffee spoon.

Is there a French homeopath, or person familiar with French and the nature of the spoons used in France, who could please offer some information on the size of these spoons? Is there a difference between the Petit cuillere and the cuillere a cafe? What size are these spoons in ML measurements? We are trying to find out the exact size of the spoons used by Hahnemann in Paris in the 1840s, which is the time he wrote the 6th Organon.

Thank you, sincerely,
David Little

Dear David,

I asked one of my students who is French about Hahnemann's spoon sizes - here's her reply.....

...."The spoons are in a descending order, the coffee spoon being the smallest. In terms of ml, it's another question. I wonder if Hahnemann was using specific measures; or more everyday utensils. Every spoon is different in size depending on the manufacturer. I think each spoon is approx half of the previous one, in a descending order. I spent some time on the web, but didn't come up with any consistent measure; coffee spoons for example seemed to contain different ml depending on the substance (homeopathic; Hahnemann's time) measured; it was not clear.

I am not quite sure where to go from here - maybe call a museum...or an old silversmith company in France?"
Sylviane

Good luck!

Carol

Carol Boyce LCH MCH CCH

Hello David,

I have old family spoons that were used with coffee that probably date to the mid 1800's. They are the smallest spoons in the service as mentioned by Carol. IF these are the spoons referred to by Hahnemann, they hold 2.4 cc's (or ml's) of fluid. Using a syringe marked per 10th ml per drop, it would be 24 drops.

Best,

Georgianna

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

Got a small question. How do we know that 1 ml = 10 drops? Sounds suspiciously convenient. I have in my mind that 100 drops = 32 ml +/-.

Richard Knapp

Hello,

You may have caught me not being thorough. My apology. Haven't any idea what specific amount the scientific world considers a *drop*, to answer your small question! Though I guess the answer is not 100 drops = 32 ml +/-....how can a +/- be exactly scientific!? :-)

Your drops are decidedly different from my drops!

I counted *drops* using a Basik brand Luer lock one ml syringe that is marked off at each 1/10th ml. Each one of these is further marked in 1/10th measurements.

I've always thought that each one tenth of the full 1 ml syringe equaled one drop and have given animals remedies under that assumption. But I am wrong! One should never assume! Pushing the plunger very slowly, each 1/10 of the syringe is TWO drops. At least it is with this 1cc Basik brand syringe. It may vary with different manufacturers? Or, perhaps verified with Basik in Denmark? The data on the wrapper includes .....0 , 5X16MM, lot B8114-1, 2004-11.

That would make the number of drops double what I thought.....48 instead of 24. With this syringe and this spoon.

Frankly, I'm not at all confident that these are what Hahnemann may have called a coffee spoon. I've always called them *demitasse* spoons. They are about 4 1/4 inches long, the bowl at the widest is about 3/4 of an inch across, about 1 1/4 in length with a depth of about 1/4 inch, pretty much standard size for demitasse spoons, though I would guess the volume could vary from one maker to another.

Best,
Georgianna

__________________
Sometimes on Earth, you can find something that resembles a little piece of Heaven. And sometimes on Earth, a little piece of Heaven can find you.

In the grand tradition of... something or other, I have semi-answered my own question. Check out this site:

http://www.sengpielaudio.com/ConvVolum.htm

Richard Knapp

a friend in France writes...
A Cuillere a bouche is a big, soup spoon in the US.
A Petit Cuillere is a normal sized spoon in the US,
and a Cuillere a cafe is a very little spoon, almost like a baby spoon, real tiny.

Melanie Grimes

I think this question may be due to cultural difference.

In Germany "spoonful", "cup" etc. have never been standardized (as in the USA the are). Where these measurements are given in a recipe or anywhere else it has a very, very loose meaning. Where the proportions are relevant (in most of the recipes etc.) the measurements are given as grams or ml.

I remember I was lost in the USA at first when I read "cups" and "spoonfuls" in recipes, could not imagine what they meant - until I found out that they had a very specific meaning there.

Regards

Luise

Dear Luise et al,

It seems that during Hahnemann's time there were exact measurements for grains, glasses, spoons, drops, etc. The following data was offered by Gaby Rottler of Germany.

Hahnemann's Apothekerlexikon, 1793:

1 Pfund (libra medica) = 12 Unzen
1 Unze (uncia) = 480 Gran.

1 glas = 4 Unzen
1 sip = 2 Unzen
1 table-spoon = 1/2 Unze = 240 Gran
1 tea-spoon = 30 Gran
1 drop = 1 Gran

1 gran (grain) is exactly 0.062 g (= 0.062 ml) (or should have been between
0,06 and 0,07 g).

This means that Hahnemann's tablespoon is roughly 14. 8 ML. His *teaspoon*, however, is very small unlike those used in England, USA and France, which are around 5ML. Hahnemann "teaspoon" was only around 2ML (30 gran or drops.). This is more like what is called a coffee spoon in France, England and the USA. This means Hahnemann's "teaspoon" is only 1/2 or less the amount of what is normally used in English, USA and France. His normal "glass" was approximately 4 ounces or around 120ML.

When Hahnemann went to Paris he began to use the spoonfuls for measurements of his medicinal solution and doses from the dilution glass. One can assume his basic measures were in approximate agreement with his own measurement system offered in the Apothecary Lexicon (Apothekerlexikon). He only speaks of 2 spoon sizes in this work. In Paris, however, Hahnemann began to note three sizes of spoons in the Paris casebooks. His abbreviations are all in French. These were:

1. c a b for Cuillere a bouche; the tablespoon.
2. p c or pet c for Petit cuillere; the small spoon.
3. c c for Cuillere a cafe; the coffee spoon.

After due investigation with French sources we have come to the conclusion that these spoon measure are the following amounts in the Systeme Internationale adopted worldwide around 1900. This is the modern standard.

1. cab. tablespoon = 15ML
2. pc. teaspoon = 5ML
3. coffee spoon = 2.5
4. 2 tablespoons = 30ML = 1 ounce
5. 8 tablespoons = 120ML = 4 ounces (the average medicinal solution).

A French firm in business since 1830 told me that these amounts were slightly less in the 1800's so they were brought up to even numbers to make things more standard. As we saw Hahnemann's tablespoon was 14.8 ML.

In aphorism 246 of the 6th Organon, Hahnemann wrote that the patient should receive one or increasingly more Gr, "Kaffee-odor thee-Loeffelchen", which means "coffee or teaspoons". All of the English translations only wrote "teaspoons" and left out the coffee spoon. In the Paris casebooks Hahnemann uses all three sizes of spoons, i.e. cab (tablespoon), pc. (teaspoon) and cc (coffeespoon). All of the doses from the dilution glass were notd as either pc (french teaspoon) and cc (French coffee spoon).

Hahnemann's most common LM dose is 1 cab = tablespoon (approx. 15ML) of the medicinal solution stirred into a dilution glass with around 120-150ML of water with the patient given 1 cc = coffee spoon (pprox. 2ML-2.5). So one can see that Hahnemann's most common dose from the dilution glass is only a coffee spoon, which is 1/2 USA, English and American teaspoon. This means that he gave only 2 - 2.5 ML which is only 1/2 the amount of medicine commonly used today, which is a called a teaspoon in most countries (approx. 5ML).

Just as a extra point: Hahnemann did not always use a cab - tablespoon (approx. 15ML) from the remedy bottle in every case. Sometimes he use pc- teaspoon (approx 5ML) and sometimes he used a cc -coffee spoon. Then he would stir this smaller amount in a dilution glass and give either a pc-teaspoon or a cc- coffee spoon. This was mostly in sensitive patients and children. He mostly used the cc cum coffee spoon which is only 2 to 2.5ML

As to the German "teaspoon" Gaby Rottler, who is German, went into her kitchen and got what she called a normal "teaspoon" and it only could hold around 2ML! I showed a 5ML teaspoon to a German woman in India and see said "Oh, that is NOT a teaspoon - its is too far too big". So, dear Germans, what are you commonly using as a "teaspoon"? Is it really what most other places call a coffee spoon? Is the German teaspoon, which Hahnemann said only held about 2ML in his day, a much smaller spoon than commonly used in USA, England and France? Is it more like Hahnemann's teaspoon in his Apothecary lexicon, i.e. approx. 2ML?

As one can see homeopathy is only "standard within reason". Nevertheless, all these measurements did historically have a specific amounts and still due today in modern SI measurements. I am just trying to pull all the loose ends together as the size of the dose *does* make a difference in the action of the remedy.

Sincerely, David Little

Hi David,

This is fascinating. I did not know that!

Regards

Luise