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 LXI. Notices respecting New Books. 



The Dublin Journal of Medical and Chemical Science ; exhibiting a 

 Comprehensive View of the latest Discoveries in Medicine, Surgery, 

 Chemistry, and the Collateral Sciences. No. I. March 1832, 8vo, 

 pp. I 1 1). 



ABOUT seven years since there was commenced at Dublin a quar- 

 terly periodical, entitled, "The Dublin Philosophical Journal and 

 Scientific Review." This w^ork, although a variety of valuable me- 

 moirs in almost every great department of science, mathematical as 

 well as physical, were first made public in it ; and notwithstanding 

 also that it was in all other respects well conducted, was unsuccess- 

 ful, being discontinued after five Numbers only had appeared. We 

 have now before us the result of a new attempt to support a Philoso- 

 phical Journal in the metropolis of Ireland, which, (in order we pre- 

 sume that it may have claims on the attention of a larger portion of 

 the scientific public,) unites the general interest of Chemical science 

 to the professional ones of Medicine and Surgery. As recorders and 

 historians of natural knowledge, we hail the appearance of every new 

 journal intended to promote the same objects as our own, on account 

 of the importance of such publications to the welfare and advance- 

 ment of science. We do not make this remark as claiming for the 

 plan or conduct of our own work the rank of a model for those of 

 others, but because, taking an enlarged and impartial view of the 

 subject, we are fully convinced, with Sir John Herschel, that, next to 

 the establishment of institutions, having the promotion of science for 

 their express object,— nothing has exercised so powerful an influence 

 on the progress of modern science as the publication of monthly and 

 quarterly scientific journals, of which there is now scarcely a nation 

 in Europe which does not produce several. "The quick and universal 

 circulation of these," he observes, "places observers of all countries 

 on the same level of perfect intimacy with each other's objects and 

 methods ; while the abstracts tliey from time to time (if well conducted) 

 contain of the most important researches of the day consigned to the 

 more ponderous tomes of academical collections, serve to direct the 

 course of general observation, as well as to hold out, in the most con- 

 spicuous manner, models for emulative imitation *." Entertaining 

 then such sentiments as these, in which we are proud to concur with 

 the philosopher from whose work we have derived the foregoing ex- 

 pression of them, we are especially gratified with the appearance of a 

 new Journal in the third city of the empire, the metropolis too of a 

 country in which every one who claims in any degree the character 

 either of a philanthropist or a lover of science, must ardently desire 

 to see useful knowledge, of every description, widely and rapidly dif- 

 fused. — We proceed to notice the contents of this first Number of the 

 Dublin Journal, and summarily to examine its claims to encourage- 

 inent as founded upon them. 



Leaving the purely medical and surgical papers and reviews to the 



* Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy, p. 351-352, 



judgement 



