EDITORIAL* 
391 
these  bear  no  uniform  proportion  to  the  amount  of  matter  soluble  in  the 
diluted  alcohol  that  they  contain. 
The  ointments  and  wines  embrace  nothing  on  which  to  remark. 
Part  3d  of  the  Dispensatory  is  chiefly  occupied  with  "  obsolescent  or  ob- 
jectionable medicines,"  which  include  "those  minerals  which  have  for  many 
years  past  been  the  principal  medicinal  agents  used  by  medical  men,  but 
which,  inconsequence  of  the  great  uncertainty  of  their  action,  and  the  per- 
manently deleterious  effects  they  produce  in  the  system,  are  going  rapidly 
out  of  use,  being  at  the  present  day  employed  by  very  few  of  the  liberal  and 
investigating  members  of  the  profession."  Under  this  plausible  heading 
Dr.  King  proceeds  to  describe  the  chemical  and  medical  properties  of  the 
compounds  of  antimony,  silver,  arsenic,  barium,  cadmium,  copper,  mercury, 
nickel,  platinum,  lead  and  zinc,  thus  placing  the  forbidden  fruit  within 
reach  of  his  Eclectic  brethren,  to  tempt  them  to  sin.  He  should  have  re- 
collected the  words  of  the  poet : — 
"Vice  is  a  monster  of  such  hideous  mem, 
That  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  seen  ; 
But  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace." 
If  the  progress  made  by  the  Eclectics,  in  the  adoption  of  mineral  prepara- 
tions in  their  practice,  is  as  rapid  for  the  future  as  it  has  been  during  the 
past,  we  shall  not  be  astonished  to  find  that  some  Eclectic  savan  will  dis- 
cover the  means  of  depriving  those  terrible  bugbears,  "mercury,  antimony 
and  arsenic,"  of  their  medicinal  danger,  and  adopt  them  into  practice  as 
safe  and  eligible. 
We  must  not,  before  concluding,  forget  to  concede  to  the  publishers  due 
credit  for  the  neat  and  substantial  manner  in  which  the  work  is  printed 
and  bound. 
The  Microscopisfs  Companion ;  a  popular  Manual  of  Practical  Microscopy. 
Designed  for  those  engaged  in  microscopic  investigation,  schools,  semi- 
naries, colleges,  etc.,  and  comprising  selections  from  the  best  writers  on 
the  microscope,  relative  to  its  use,  mode  of  management,  preservation  of 
objects,  etc.,  to  which  is  added  a  Glossary  of  the  principal  terms  used  in 
microscopical  science.  By  John  King,  M.  D.   Illustrated  with  114  cuts. 
Cincinnati,  Robert  Clarke  &  Co.,  1859.    308  pp.  octavo. 
In  these  days,  when  even  children  are  supplied  with  microscopes  to  in- 
dulge curiosity,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  more  advanced  should  feel  an 
interest  in  getting  a  glance  at  that  interesting  portion  of  existence,  which 
the  structure  of  our  eyes  preclude  us  from  recognizing  unaided  by  the 
lens.    To  meet  this  interest,  for  several  years  past  the  manufacture  of 
microscopes  has  been  greatly  extended,  and  they  may  now  be  had  of  all 
qualities  to  suit  every  variety  of  demand.    These  instruments  are  often 
much  less  valuable  to  amateur  students,  from  a  want  of  understanding  the 
principles  involved  in  their  construction  and  mode  of  action ;  and  of  knowing 
how  to  use  them  and  keep  them  in  order.   The  "  Microscopisfs  Com- 
