542 
REVIEWS. 
in the British Pharmacopoeia, a great many remedies not mentioned in that volume are 
also included in the present work. These are distinguished by being marked with an 
asterisk, and are thus at once known from the officinal substances. Among other nou- 
officinal articles of the Materia Medica which are described, we may mention—Absin¬ 
thium, Mucuna, Spigelia, Cotyledon, Valerianas Quinse, Viola odorata, Canna edulis, 
Marauta, Sago, Tapioca, Succini Oleum, Amygdalae amarse Oleum, Spiritus Pyroxilicus 
rectificatus, iEther aceticus, Cocculus indicus, Actaea racemosa, Cadmii sulphas, Hydro- 
cotyle asiatica, Pepsina, Cinchona micrantha, etc. Thinking, as we do, that all works 
treating on medicines should be comprehensive in their scope, we think the editor has 
acted very wisely in thus treating of the more important non-officinal remedies, etc., as 
well as those which are officinal. 
In all cases where chemical symbols are used we notice that the author, following the 
Pharmacopoeia, gives two formulae, one according to the old, and the other according to 
the new system of notation ; but, in explaining the decompositions, etc., which occur in the 
various processes, the old system is entirely adhered to. We regret this, and think that 
an explanation should have been given of both systems, as the work will now be much 
less useful to the class of students increasing every day who have been taught entirely 
on the new system. 
From the sketch we have now given of the contents of the volume, it will be seen 
that the work is of a comprehensive character, and upon a general inspection of its con¬ 
tents, although we have detected several errors, we bear willing testimony to its general 
accuracy, and the careful manner in which the present edition has been revised, and 
brought down to the present state of our knowledge. The style is agreeable, the 
descriptions clear and generally accurate, and the whole work well adapted to practi¬ 
tioners and students of medicine. 
Thomson’s Conspectus adapted to the British Pharmacopoeia. Edited by Ed¬ 
mond Lloyd Birkett, M.D. Cantab., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, 
Physician to the City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Chest. New Edition. 
London: Longmans, Green, and Co. 1868. 
Upon reviewing the last edition of ‘Thomson’s Conspectus’ by Birkett, in 1865, we 
had to point out in it numerous errors. We are glad, therefore, in referring to the pre¬ 
sent edition, to find that these errors have been corrected, and the work generally com¬ 
piled with far more care than was the case with the former edition. We have no desire 
to be hypercritical, and hence, although we cannot speak in terms of unqualified praise 
of the present work, having noted several errors of omission and commission, as these 
are generally unimportant, we believe that the work will be found very useful to me¬ 
dical practitioners and others who desire “to hold in conspectu the prominent points of 
Pharmacy, Materia Medica, and Therapeutics.” 
Transactions of the Odontological Society of Great Britain. Vol. V. 1865-66-67. 
London : Published by the Society. 
The present volume of the ‘ Transactions of the Odontological Society ’ is in no respect 
inferior to its predecessors, the papers being of high scientific and practical value, pro¬ 
fusely and beautifully illustrated, and printed in a clear type on good paper. The fol¬ 
lowing list of papers, with their authors’ names, will show the scope and character of 
the subjects treated of:—“On Fang-Filling,” by Mr. Thomas A. Rogers; “A New 
Method of Producing Local Amesthesia applicable to Dental Surgery,” by Dr. Richard¬ 
son ; “ Abnormal Projection of the Incisors and Cuspidati,” by Mr. Mummery ; “ On 
Lateral Abnormalities,” by Mr. Sidney Longhurst; “ Upon Fossil Teeth of Fishes in 
the Palaeozoic and Lower Members of the Mesozoic Rocks,” by Mr. Ibbetson ; “ On the 
best Form and Arrangement of Artificial Teeth for Mastication,” by Mr. Balk will; 
“ On luterglobular Spaces in Dentine,” by Dr. M‘Quillen ; “ On Indian Dentistry,” by 
Dr. Short; “ On Hard Rubber,” by Mr. R. Hepburn ; “ On Reparation of Loss of the 
Superior Maxillary Region, the result of Lupus,” by Mr. J. T. Browne Mason ; “ On 
the Treatment of Decayed Teeth with Carbolic Acid, etc.,” by Mr. James Bate ; “ On 
Congenital Cleft Palate,” by Mr. Ramsay; “ On the Dentition in the Mole,” by C. 
