Oct ibi r 3, [gi8 



X, ITU RE 



83 



by the buzzing of Hies, or b\ the dlrecl droning 

 ili^ht 11I" the great scarabs? 



\ 1 1 1< 1 1 is said about coloration. Mr. I 

 "infallible test" whether .1 bird is protectivel) 

 coloured ur nut is whether it "freezes," counting 

 upon being overlooked, or whether it goes off. 

 Lists of such and other birds an given, and many 

 of tin real, t, exi eptions are scrutinised. 



Some explanation is always available where per- 

 sonal bias is n.ii h impered by ai tual knowledge in 

 this " optical tower ol Babel of the tropical Forest. " 

 lapter is devoted to the life of the hoatzin, 

 with excellent photographs 1 enery, nests, 



md the climbing and swimming of the un- 

 fledged babies. All this is glorified into a miracle, 

 with conclusions about the origin of birds rathei 

 startling and a little overdone. The staff took 

 no end of trouble about the lasting, eggs, and 

 young of various other birds, especiall) toucans, 

 about which nothing was known. 



Mr. Hartley has contributed chapters on the 

 development of external features. There is ,1 livel) 

 chapter on the pi inibal fish, the piranha 



of the Brazilians. Mr. Howes treats of the life- 

 histories "i bees and wasps, with coloured plates. 

 Mr. Rodway, of the Georgetown Museum, writes 

 on Indian charms, and the Rev. W. G. White 

 contributes notes of the Hinterland of Guiana. 



Altogether this is a very valuable first instalment 

 of a most promising enterprise. 



DRUGS AND THEIR PREPARATIONS. 

 The Dispensatory of the I nited States of 

 America. Twentieth edition, thoroughly re- 

 vised and largely re-written by Prof. J. 1'. 

 Remington and others. Pp. cxxii + 2010. 

 (Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott Co., 

 191S. ) Price -'/. 10s. net. 

 T I is now three-quarters of a century since the 

 * first edition of the United States Dispensatory 

 published. During thai period it lias grown 

 from a volume of 1073 pages '" one of nearly 

 double that size, and simultaneously enhanced its 

 reputation as a standard work of reference for 

 matters pharmaceutical. 



The revision of the work for the present edition 

 accomplished by the late Prof. Remington, 

 whilst- loss all pharmacists deplore, and Dr. 

 Horatio Wood, assisted i>\ Prof. Sadtler 

 (Chemistry), Prof. La-Wall 1!' Prof. 



Kraemer (Pharmacognosy), and Dr. Anderson. It 

 has long bun recognised that in the preparation 

 compendious a volume, embracing various 

 branches ol knowledge, the co-ope 1 it ion of experts 

 in those branches must be enlisted, and this plan 

 has here been followed with most admirable 

 result s. 



The issue of new editions of the United States 



.\m\ British Pharmacopoeias and of the National 

 Formulary, the appearance ol man) new non- 

 official remedies, and the rapid increase in our 

 knowledge of official remedii it it ed a 



vast amount of work by the compilers. h ma\ 

 at once be said that the compilation has been excel- 

 2553, VOL. I02~! 



lently accomplished, with the result that the United 



- Dispensatory is now a mine of information 



I on all matters relating to pharmacy. It includes 



practically all the drugs and preparations of the 



United States and British 1'h in ias and of 



the National Formulary, and also such of the 

 German and French pharmacopo ire in 



■ ommon use in the United States. 



'Lhe preliminary pages (122) 

 1 American) Food and Drugs Act, to Food In- 

 spection decisions, tp the Harrison 1 

 Law, a glossary, an index of diseases, and so on. 

 lie work is divided into three parts. 

 Part i. deals with all the remedies in tin- 

 States and British Pharmacopoeias, part ii. witl 

 the National Formulary and non-otlicial remedies, 

 and part iii. with tests, test solutions, weights 

 and measures, the art of prescribing, and cognate 

 matters such as alcohol tables, etc. 



As part i. comprises more than 1200 pages of 

 closel) printed text, it is obvious that the various 

 remedies are comprehensively dealt with. As an 

 example, the account of Acacia (gum arabic) 

 may be utilised to show the extent of the informa- 

 tion given and the method adopted for its arrange- 

 ment. After an enumeration of the various species 

 of Acacia that yield commercial gums, and a brief 

 note on the products other than gum obtained from 

 the tree, the nature and cause of the exudation 

 and the method of harvesting the gum are 

 described. Then follows an elaborate description 

 of official and non-official varieties of gum. The 

 general properties, chemical composition, and tests 

 occupy three columns, the article concluding with 

 incompatibles, adulterations, uses, and official 

 preparations. It will be seen, therefore, that the 

 treatment is very comprehensive and that it is 

 possible in a few minutes and in a single volume 

 to inform oneself very thoroughly about gum 

 arabic. The other preparations and drugs are 

 similarly treated, more or less extensively accord- 

 ing to their importance. Here and there one 

 misses the latest researches ; thus in the excellent, 

 historically arranged account of the chemical ex- 

 amination of rhubarb the investigations of Tutin 

 and Clewer appear 10 have been overlooked, as 

 also under " Scammoniae Radix" those of Power 

 ami Rogerson. Such omission is, however, quite 

 exceptional, and reference to the United States 

 Dispensatory may be relied upon for rapid, con- 

 cise, and comprehensive information on almost 

 :fnv drug or preparation that is or has been used 

 in pharmacy. 



OUR BOOKSHELF. 



s. / ol i ., - In Elementary Text-book of 



/■ 1,! Si . ondary Schools and 



cultur.il Short Courses. By E. Dwight 



Sanderson and L. M. Peairs. Pp. vii + 356. 



1 New York : J. Wiley and Sons, Inc. ; London : 



Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 1017.1 Price ~s. net. 



Tiiis little book is one of "Wiley's Technical 



Sciies," for the use of "various " schools in the 



L'nited States of America, where such educational 



