228  Reviews  and  Bibliographical  Xotices.     { Am,Mav%marm' 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
A  Method  for  the  Identification  of  Pure  Organic  Compounds. 
By  a  systematic  analytical  procedure  based  on  physical  properties 
and  chemical  reactions.  Vol.  I  containing  classified  descriptions  of 
about  2,300  of  the  more  important  compounds  of  carbon  with  hydro- 
gen and  with  hydrogen  and  oxygen.  By  Samuel  Parsons  Mulli- 
ken,  Ph.D.,  instructor  in  organic  chemistry  and  organic  analysis  at 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  Boston,  Mass.  New 
York,  John  Wile)*  &  Sons  :  London,  Chapman  &  Hall,  Limited. 
1904.    Large  8vo,  xii  —  264  pages.    Cloth,  S5.00.  # 
The  identification  of  organic  compounds  of  all  classes  by  the 
Method  of  the  Empirical  Formula ;  i.  e.,  depending  upon  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  chemical  constants,  percentage,  composition  and  molecu- 
lar weight,  is  the  method  generally  employed  and  is  usually  fairly 
satisfactory  in  the  hands  of  the  skilled  analyst.  There  are,  however, 
many  other  available  data  which  have  considerable  significance  in 
the  identification  of  unknown  organic  compounds  and  on  account  of 
the  ease  with  which  many  of  these  tests  may  be  made  should  be 
utilized  in  a  comprehensive  scheme. 
Dr.  Mulliken  has  applied  himself  to  this  task,  and  during  the  past 
eight  years  has  carefully  considered  the  more  easily  determined 
properties  of  more  than  2,000  of  the  more  important  organic  com- 
pounds, such  as  qualitative  elementary  composition,  color,  melting 
point,  boiling  point,  solubility,  specific  gravity,  alkali  neutralizing 
power  and  chemical  behavior  under  prescribed  conditions,  and  has, 
we  believe,  devised  a  system  which  not  only  has  the  merit  of  origi- 
nality, but  which  we  believe  will  be  found,  from  a  practical  and 
technical  point  of  view,  to  be  simple  and  to  yield  satisfactory  results. 
The  author  has  utilized  Linnaean  principles  in  creating  orders, 
genera  and  species  of  organic  compounds.  The  "  orders  "  are  based 
on  the  qualitative  elementary  composition  of  the  compounds  com- 
prising the  largest  groups.  Each  of  these  then  are  subdivided  into 
"  genera,  "as  aldehydes,  acids,  phenols,  etc.,  depending  upon  the 
behavior  of  the  compounds  to  simple  chemical  tests.  The  genera 
include  species,  which  are  arranged  according  to  the  increasing 
value  of  some  readily  determined  constant,  like  the  melting  point 
or  boiling  point.  Finally,  under  each  species  is  given  a  brief  system- 
atized description  of  salient  features  having    genuine  analytical 
