Am.  Jour.  Pharru-"! 
Augnst,  1908.  / 
Book  Reviews. 
389 
solvent,  a  sort  of  "  honey-combing "  effect  is  produced,  and  the 
cohesion  of  the  less  soluble  portions  being  destroyed  as  well  as  more 
surface  exposed  to  the  solvent,  the  tablet  falls  rapidly  to  pieces. 
While  some  of  the  facts  in  connection  with  this  have  been  observed, 
the  rule  does  not  appear  to  have  been  specificaTy  stated,  and  hence 
it  is  deemed  worthy  of  recording. 
BOOK  REVIEWS. 
Practical  Pharmacy.  A  Description  of  the  Machinery,  Appli- 
ances and  Methods  Employed  in  the  Preparation  of  Galenicals,  with 
an  Account  of  Pharmaceutical  Testing  and  the  Assay  of  Crude  and 
Manufactured  Drugs,  together  with  a  Short  Treatise  on  the  Art  of 
Dispensing.  By  E.  W.  Lucas,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S.  Second  Edition. 
423  pages,  cloth,  $5.  Publishers,  London  :  J.  &  A.  Churchill. 
Philadelphia  :  American  Agents,  P.  Blakiston's  Son  &  Co. 
The  second  edition  of  this  English  work  on  pharmacy  is  before 
us,  enlarged  and  largely  rewritten.  It  is  a  compact  volume  of  423 
pages,  neatly  printed  and  bound,  and  the  descriptive  text  is  helped 
by  224  illustrations,  many  of  which  are  electrotypes  of  special 
apparatus  manufactured  in  England,  Germany  and  the  United 
States. 
The  subject  matter  is  divided  into  five  distinct  parts  under  the 
titles:  I — General  Processes  and  Description  of  Apparatus;  II — 
Pharmacopceial  Preparations  ;  III — Assaying  and  Testing  ;  IV — 
Dispensing  ;  V — Tests  and  Tables.  These  are  subdivided  into  fifty- 
nine  chapters,  each  treating  of  a  special  subject  or  class  of  pharma- 
ceutical preparations. 
In  studying  this  volume,  the  reader  is  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  the  author's  view  of  pharmacy,  as  exhibited  herein,  is  mainly 
from  the  laboratory,  and  the  preparation  and  testing  of  drugs  has 
received  the  major  consideration,  while  the  dual  duty  of  the  apothe- 
cary, the  "  Art  of  Dispensing,"  has  received  rather  scant  consider, 
ation  in  Part  IV,  devoted  to  Dispensing,  and  covering  only  sixty- 
eight  pages.  Yet,  throughout  the  other  parts  of  the  book,  the 
observant  pharmacist  will  find  numerous  hints  that  will  be  of  great 
assistance  at  the  dispensing  counter.  Not  the  least  of  these  is  the 
extensive  list  of  synonyms  included  with  the  tables. 
