EDITORIAL. 
77 
In  the  course  of  our  examination  we  have  met  with  a  few  omissions  and 
errors,  which  are  difficult  to  avoid  in  a  first  edition  of  such  a  work.  In 
several  instances  reference  is  made  to  other  words  which  have  not  been 
introduced :  thus,  Abrotanum  mas,  is  referred  to  Artemisia  Abrotanum  ; 
Black  Drop  is  referred  to  Opii  Acetum;  Abscissa  vox  is  referred  for  defi- 
nition to  Vox  abscissa ;  Acaweria  to  Ophioxylum ;  Alcargen  to  Cacody- 
lic  acid, — none  of  which  are  to  be  found.  The  definition  of  the  term 
"Liquor"  is  not  pharmacopoeially  correct,  as,  in  their  true  signification, 
alcohol  does  not  enter  the  "  Liquores"  of  the  U.  S,  Pharmacopoeia.  Gou- 
lard's Extract  is  defined  Liquor  Plumbi  Diacetatus  dilutus.  Nicotina,  the 
poisonous  alkaloid  of  tobacco,  is  said  to  be  "  the  same  as  Nicotianin," 
which  last  is  described  to  be  the  odorous  principle  of  tobacco.  "Percola- 
tion" is  not  noticed  as  a  pharmaceutical  process  equivalent  to  "displace- 
ment," and  "dialysis,"  in  its  new  chemical  sense  as  a  process  nearly 
equivalent  to  exosmosis,  has  been  overlooked. 
These  omissions  and  errors  will  doubtless  be  corrected  in  a  future  edition. 
OBITUARIES. 
Prof.  Benjamin  Silliman,  of  Yale  College,  died  at  his  residence  in  the 
city  of  New  Haven  on  the  morning  of  Nov.  24,  1864,  in  the  86th  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  the  son  of  General  Gold  S.  Silliman,  of  a  highly  respect- 
able Connecticut  family,  and  was  born  in  the  town  of  Trumbull,  Conn.,  in 
1779  ;  graduated  at  Yale  College,  1796  ; — tutor  in  that  institution  1799 — 
1804,  when  he  became  Professor  of  Chemistry  ;  in  which  station  he  con- 
tinued until  1853,  nearly  fifty  years,  and  then  retired  from  the  active  du- 
ties of  the  Chair  to  become  Emeritus  Professor.  In  1818  he  founded 
the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,  which  he  sustained  alone  for 
twenty  years  in  the  most  liberal  manner,  at  a  great  outlay  of  money,  care 
and  labor  for  a  whole  generation.  Prof.  Silliman  was  more  widely  known 
in  Europe  than  any  other  American  in  the  walks  of  science.  "Amid  all 
his  engagements  he  forgot  nothing,  he  neglected  nothing,  he  was  never  in 
a  hurry,  and  never  shrank  from  duty.  The  whole  working  of  his  nature 
was  so  regulated  and  even,  that  it  surprised  no  one  to  see  him  maintain 
himself  unchanged  at  the  age  of  four  score."  "  In  bodily  presence  and 
mental  characteristics  he  was  a  perfect  model  of  manhood.  All  his  facul- 
ties were  well  balanced,  and  always  in  order  for  use.  He  was  never  taken 
by  surprise,  or  thrown  off  his  balance  by  any  casualty.  He  was  the  most 
attractive  lecturer  in  the  country,  from  the  amenity  of  his  manner,  the 
fluency  of  his  diction,  the  clearness  of  his  instruction,  the  aptness  of  his 
topics  and  the  beauty  of  his  experiments.  When  he  entered  upon  hia 
career,  the  science  of  chemistry  had  but  just  assumed  its  form,  minera- 
logy was  in  a  crude  state  as  an  appendix  to  chemistry,  and  geology  waa 
hardly  thought  of  as  a  science.    In  the  wonderful  advances  made  since, 
