36 
Analyses of Books. 
[■January, 
A German- English Dictionary of Words and Terms used in 
Medicine and its Cognate Sciences. By Fancourt Barnes, 
M.D. London : H. K. Lewis. 
In the present day, when the technical phraseology of almost 
every Science and of such Arts as are most immediately con- 
nected with them is growing with such alarming speed, a 
Dictionary such as the present is much needed. The scientific 
language of Germany is in a peculiar position ; we find in it 
words of Greek or Latin origin similar to those so wantonly 
multiplied by English bilogical writers ; we meet with others 
purely Teutonic, and capable of being “ understanded of the 
people,” — a feature which we should do well to imitate, — and 
with others which are compounds, or rather mixtures, of these 
two incongruous elements. Hence even a very fair German 
scholar may often find himself bewildered, especially if he has 
the misfortune to fall in with a book printed in the reformed — or 
rather ^formed — orthography which has been lately brought into 
fashion in Germany. A man may be very well acquainted with 
“ Theerfarben,” and yet wonder what can possibly be meant by 
“ Terfarben.” 
Dr. Barnes undertakes to give “ most of the technical words 
used in Botany, Chemistry, and Zoology, as well as those used 
in Anatomy, Physiology, Medicine, Midwifery, and Surgery.” 
He has not been equally successful in all these departments. 
The chemical terms introduced are neither very numerous nor 
stridtly scientific, being in many cases those used by pharma- 
cists, miners, &c. They are not in all cases corredt ; thus we 
find “ Wismuth salmiak blumen, nitrate of bismuth,” a com- 
pound in which there is certainly no “ salmiak,” i.e., ammonium 
chloride. Further, we have “ Braunstein essig saures ” rendered 
“ acetate of antimony.” “ Braunstein ” is the trivial German 
name for the native peroxide of manganese. “ Kupferkalk ” is 
a very antiquated name for copper oxide, and “ Zinnsalz ” means 
not acetate of tin, but hydrated stannous chloride. 
Zoology has also fared but scantily. We find “ Aas kafer ” 
rendered “ dung-beetle ” instead of carrion beetle, e.g., Silpha, 
or Necrophorus. “ Bock-kaefer ” is a name given not to the 
stag-beetle (which is known in German as Hirsch-kaefer), but to 
the larger Longicornes, such as Cerambyx heros and Prionus 
coriarius . 
In the botanical department we find “ Pappel ” (poplar) ren- 
dered by the Latin word “ Malva.” “ Fingerhut ” — the German 
name for foxglove, is said to be an adjedtive, and is rendered 
“ digital.” 
We perceive that some words are translated into English, and 
others without any apparent reason into Latin : thus “ Gemeiner 
Hafer” — which means oats — is rendered Avenasativa; “Flieder” 
