40 
licvieu'8,  etc. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pliarm. 
t      Jan..  1882. 
Tlie  work  is  arranged  in  three  parts,  the  tirst  ti-eating  of  drugs  of  ani- 
mal origin,  the  seeond  of  drugs  of  eelhilar  vegetahle  structure,  and  the  third 
of  drugs  of  non-cellular  vegetahle  structure.  The  origin  of  each  substance, 
with  natural  order  and  habitat,  is  tlrst  given,  then  follows  a  description, 
and,  finally,  its  active  ingredients,  properties  and  dose. 
The  vegetable  cellular  drugs  are  considered  under  the  following  heads: 
roots,  rhizomes,  bulbs  and  tubers,  twigs  and  woods,  barks,  leaves,  herbs, 
flowers,  fruits,  seeds  and  cellular  drugs  not  recognized  as  distinct  organs 
of  plants,  the  latter  forming  a  group  consisting  of  galls,  starches,  lycopo- 
diuni,  lupulin,  crocus,  ergot,  sassafras  pith,  cotton,  cibotium,  cowhage, 
kamala,  yeast,  mace. 
The  third  class  is  devoted  to  the  description  of  non-cellular  drugs,  as 
extracts,  inspissated  juices,  gum-resins,  gums,  balsams,  oleo-resins,  volatile 
and  expressed  oils. 
From  the  above  resume,  a  very  fair  idea  can  be  had  of  the  inetliod  of 
treating  the  subject-matter  of  the  work,  and  a  careful  examination  of  a 
number  of  the  articles  authorizes  the  opinion  that  it  is  full,  accurate  and 
concise;  the  textual  description  is  supplemented  by  a  large  number  of 
illustrations,  which  supply  a  want  noticed  by  many  in  some  of  the  best 
treatises  on  pharmacognosy  ever  published ;  a  few  of  these  might  be 
improved. 
A  feature  peculiar  to  this  treatise  is  a  tabular  arrangement  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  ditt'erent  drugs,  reminding  one  of  the  key  to  the  botani- 
cal treatises,  which  greatly  facilitates  the  use  for  those  who  refer  to  it  for 
the  recognition  of  drugs  ;  the  copious  index  of  nearly  1,600  references  will 
be  welcomed  by  all  consulting  it.  The  excellent  paper  and  clear  legil)le 
type  will  be  appreciated  by  all  whose  eyes  are  tried  by  the  fine  type  and 
l^oor  paper  so  often  used  in  text-books.  T.  8.  W. 
Die  qualitative  unci  quantitative  Analyse  von  Pflanzen  iind  Pfian?:entlieiU'n. 
Bearbeitet  von  Dr.  G.  Dragendorff',  o.  Professor  der  Pharmacie  an  der 
Universitat  Dorpat.  G()ttingen  :  Vandenhoeck  &  Ruprecht's  Verlag. 
1882.    8vo,  pp.  285. 
Qualitative  and  Quantitative  Analysis  of  Plants  and  Parts  of  Plants. 
Works  on  the  subject  of  phyto  analysis  are  not  numerous.  Besides  the 
paper  by  Mr.  H,  B.  Parsons,  wiiich  was  repul)lished  in  the  April  number, 
1880,  of  this  journal,  we  know  of  only  one  original  work  on  this  subject  in 
the  English  language,  the  "  Outlines  of  Proximate  Organic  Analysis,"  by 
Prof.  A.  B.  Prescott,  published  in  1875.  A  translation  of  Rochleder's  val- 
naV)le  work  on  phyto-analysis  aj^peared  in  this  journal  in  1801  and  1862, 
and  in  1878  Baron  von  Mueller  published,  in  Melbourne,  a  translation 
of  Wittstein's  well-known  work  under  the  title  of  "  The  Organic  Con- 
stituents of  Plants  and  Vegetable  Substances,  and  their  Chemical  Analy- 
sis." The  reason  of  the  scarcity  of  such  works  is  very  apparent ;  there 
are  but  few  men  who  have,  by  actual  investigations,  acquired  the  experi- 
ence which  is  absolutely  necessary  for  intelligently  arranging  the  vast  and 
continually  increasing  material  that  has  to  be  considered  in  the  elabora- 
tion of  a  scheme  applicable  to  the  analysis  of  all  plants.     The  phyto- 
