630 



NA TURE 



[October 22, 1908 



intends his handbook of pharmacognosy to be a 

 worli of different character from any of these, of 

 wider scope and higher aims, extending and deepen- 

 ing the scientific foundations of pharmacognosy, a 

 field upon which Prof. Tschircfi, assisted by his 

 numerous pupils, has laboured for many years. 



The author divides the subject-matter into genera! 

 (or scientific) and special (or applied) pharmacognosy, 

 and rightly insists that the former should be studied 

 under a capable teacher at a properly equipped in- 

 stitution. General pharmacognosy is subdivided 

 into two sections, the first of which deals with the 

 problems of pharmacognosy, with the cultivation, 

 commerce, history, and study of drugs, while the 

 second treats of the sciences of botany, chemistrv, 

 zoology, physics, geography, history, &c., in so far 

 as they directly relate to pharmacognosy. In the 

 second subdivision of the work, viz. special pharma- 

 cognosy, each drug will be described separately, and, 

 judging from the specimen issued with the first part, 

 in the fullest conceivable manner, each account bein.n- 

 a complete monograph of the drug. The grouping 

 of these monographs is to be based upon the 

 chemical relationship of the active constituents of 

 the drugs which, it is hoped, will form a natural 

 bridge to their therapeutical uses. 



Comparing the scheme of the work with the plan 

 of a classical English work on the same subject, 

 the " Pharmacographia " of Fliickiger and Hanbury, 

 it will be seen that the chief differences lie in tlie 

 separate treatment of general and special pharma- 

 cognosy, in the endeavour to base the grouping upon 

 the chemical constituents, in the greater detail and 

 in the extreme richness of illustration. 



That the handbook of pharmacognosy will be one 

 of the most voluminous and one of the most im- 

 portant works that has ever been produced on the 

 subject cannot be doubted. The author's profound 

 acquaintance with the anatomy of drugs is a guar- 

 antee that each description of the structure of a 

 drug will be a masterpiece. The chemistry of drugs 

 has also received his continuous attention for years; 

 but whether our knowledge of their active" con- 

 stituents is sufficiently extensive to allow of the pro- 

 posed classification being satisfactorily accomplished 

 remains to be seen. The work contains the promise 

 of rich stores of information, of abundant literary 

 references, and of admirable illustration that will be 

 invaluable to all who are interested directly or in- 

 directly in crude drugs. Henry G. Greenish. 



Memories of Dr. E. Symes-Thompson, a FoUower 

 of St. Luke. By his Wife. Pp. vii -1-195. 

 (London : Elliot Stock, 1908.) Price 35. 6d. 

 The life of every physician who has attained and held 

 for many years an acknowledged place in his pro- 

 fession necessarily includes in its scope something 

 beyond his daily medical work. Some, like Sir S. 

 Wilks and Gairdner in this country and Trousseu 

 and Charcot in France, have left ' behind them a 

 large addition to medical science, although now, with 

 increased knowledge and specialisation, the clinician 

 leaves a large part of the scientific field to others. 

 Some, like Sir A. Clark, have been great teachers 

 and public leaders in medicine; and others, again, 

 without much of public recognition, have brought a 

 detached and philosophic mind to bear on the 

 problems of life and disease — and their teachings 

 have exerted profound influence. 



Dr. Symes-Thompson belongs to yet another class. 

 A man of great industry, vvith ready insight and 

 quick sympathy, the practice of medicine was his 

 forte. To this it must be added that he was an 

 earnest Churchman and one of the founders and a 



NO. 2034, '^'OL. 78] 



Provost of the Guild of St. Luke, and that he was 

 possessed of an energy and rare social gifts which 

 gave him a leading place in every cause that he 

 espoused. He was for many years physician to the 

 Brompton Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, and 

 was one of the first authorities upon the effects of 

 climate in the treatment of consumption, and con- 

 tributed many valuable observations upon the in- 

 fluence of climates upon chronic disease. 



As professor of physic at Gresham College for a 

 long term of years, he assisted in that extension 

 and popularisation of medical knowledge which in 

 this country has accompanied the advance of edu- 

 cation. Dr. Symes-Thompson will also be remem- 

 bered as a leader in life-assurance medicine. He 

 succeeded in gaining the confidence of the lay 

 authorities in life assurance, and did much to advance 

 our knowledge in this branch of medicine. ' 



The present volume of " Memories," recently pub- 

 lished by his wife, gives a charming account of Dr. 

 Thompson's personal and family life, in London and 

 at his country house. It includes also many tributes 

 of affection from colleagues and old friends, and 

 cannot fail to be of interest to the large number of 

 persons who were brought into contact with him. 



Wax Craft : All about Beesin'ax. Its History, Pro- 

 duction, Adulteration, and Commercial Value. By 

 T. W. Cowan. Pp. 172. (London : Samp- 

 son Low, Marston and Co., and British Bee 

 Journal Office, 1908.) Price 2s. net. 

 Between theology and bee-keeping there is appa 

 rently little connection. Vet whilst Luther and 

 Zwingli were compassing the downfall of a Church, 

 they were also preparing hardship for a rural industry. 

 With the decline of Roman ritual the demand for 

 candles and tapers slackened, and as a consequence 

 the sellers of beeswax, whatever their religious lean- 

 ings, had at least financial reason to mourn the advent 

 of the Reformation. 



Mr. Cowan touches on this and other historical 

 matters in the introduction to his little book, which 

 is devoted to a general description of beeswax. The 

 secretion of the wax and the methods of " rendering " 

 it are fully described, several illustrations of extrac- 

 tors and presses being given, with hints upon the 

 best modes of manipulation. Ivefining and bleaching 

 processes ; the making of comb-foundation ; distinc- 

 tions between commercial varieties of wax ; methods 

 of adulteration and analysis, and the applications of 

 beeswax in commerce, are all dealt with in turn ; 

 and the book concludes with a collection of technical 

 recipes. 



In some of the sections the treatment is too sketchy 

 to be of much value to the technical reader. For 

 instance, the chapters on the adulteration of beeswax 

 and on the manufacture of wax flowers would not 

 greatly assist the analyst or the modeller. Moreover, 

 outside his own immediate province the author is not 

 always a trustworthy guide — as witness the statement 

 (p. no) that paraffin wax is obtained by the distil- 

 lation of naphtha. But the book as a whole is a 

 useful one for bee-keepers, and is generally interesting. 



C. S 



Educational Wood-Working for School and Home. 

 By Joseph C. Park. Pp. xiii+310. (New York; 

 The Macmillan Co.; London : Macmillan and Co., 

 Ltd., 1908.) Price 4^. 6d. net. 



This book is intended primarily for use in the public 

 schools of America, and it indicates for Enghsh 

 readers to what extent manual training enters into 

 the curriculum of such schools, and how the training 

 in this branch of work is carried out. The book is 



