THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 243 



20 per cent, of the powder. Potato starch was found in two specimens. 

 In one case it constituted about 30 per cent, of the powder, in the other 

 a somewhat less proportion. Of the specimens examined, a large majority 

 were found to be practically free from adulteration. 

 Pharmacognosticai. Laboratory, University of Wisconsin. 



How to Make Kumiss. 



The Diet, and Hyg. Gazette (August, 1898) gives the following direc- 

 tions for the preparation of kumiss : 



Fill a quart champagne bottle to the neck with pure cow's milk ; add 

 two tablespoonfuls of white sugar, first dissolving it in a little water by 

 the aid of heat ; add also a quarter of a two -cent cake of compressed yeast. 

 Then securely fasten the cork in the bottle and shake the mixture well ; 

 place it in a room having a temperature of from 70 to 8o° F. for six hours, 

 and finally in the ice-box for about twelve hours. It is then ready for 

 use, and may be taken in quantities varying with the requirements of the 

 stomach and general condition of the patient. The bottle should be 

 opened with great care, on account of the effervescent properties of the 

 mixture, and the latter should be discarded and not drunk at all if there is 

 any curdle of thickened masses resembling cheese, as these indicate that 

 the fermentation has been prolonged beyond the proper time. It should 

 be prepared as required for use. The virtue of kumiss resides in the fact 

 that it nourishes, refreshes, and stimulates with no subsequent reaction 

 from its effects. Kumiss contains some alcohol, with fat, casein, lactic 

 acid, and carbonic-acid gas. The cost is about fifteen cents per quart, 

 including; the bottle. 



Book Reviews. 



A Text- Book of Volumetric Analysis, with special Reference to the Volumet- 

 ric Processes of the Pharmacopoeia of the United States. Designed for the 

 use of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Students. By Henry W. 

 Schimpp, Ph.G., M.D. New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1898. Third 

 Edition, Rewritten and Reset. 



We have had occasion in a former number of the Journal to commend 

 this volume very warmly. This, the third edition, which retains the main 

 features of the last, with much well chosen new matter added, serves to 

 further increase the value of the work. It is a work eminently fitted for 

 pharmaceutical students and is, we believe, one of the best of the small 

 books devoted to the subject. 



