Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Aug.,  1878.  / 
Reviews,  etc. 
commendation  5  and  since  the  present  editors  of  the  English  as  well  as  of  the  Amer- 
ican edition  have  acted  in  that  capacity  on  several  previous  editions  of  the  same 
work,  they  must  certainly  be  regarded  as  familiar  with  the  wants  of  those  for  whom 
Fownes  has  been  a  welcome  guide  and  a  reliable  authority  for  consultation.  It 
would  seem,  therefore,  unnecessary  to  enlarge  upon  the  merits  of  the  work ;  and 
when  we  state  that,  in  our  opinion,  the  present  edition  in  every  respect  sustains  the 
high  reputation  which  its  predecessors  have  acquired  and  enjoyed,  we  express  there- 
with our  full  belief  in  its  intrinsic  value  as  a  text-book  and  work  of  reference.  We 
propose  merely  to  briefly  notice  the  changes  and  to  give  a  very  condensed  outline 
of  the  arrangement  of  the  present  edition. 
The  additions  of  new  matter  have  been  so  considerable  that  it  was  found  advis- 
able in  England  to  issue  the  work  in  two  volumes,  which  in  the  American  edition 
have  been  compressed  into  one,  through  the  use  of  a  small  but  very  clear  type.  It 
has  been  found  necessary  to  omit  that  portion  of  the  previous  editions  which  related 
to  physiological  chemistry,  including  the  description  of  the  tissues  and  fluids  of  the 
animal  body,  and  the  functions  of  nutrition  and  respiration  ;  this  necessity  will 
doubtless  be  regretted  by  some,  but  this  department  of  chemistry  has  become  so 
extensive  as  to  require  treatment  in  separate  works. 
As  heretofore,  the  manual,  after  a  brief  introduction,  opens  with  chemical  phys- 
ics, followed  by  the  chemistry  of  the  non- metallic  elements,  chemical  philosophy, 
and  the  chemistry  of  the  metallic  elements.  The  chemistry  of  the  carbon  com- 
pounds, as  might  be  expected,  occupies  the  greater  half  of  the  work.  After  an 
introduction  embracing  special  theoretical  considerations,  the  compounds  are  classi- 
fied as  follows  : 
The  fatty  group  is  divided  into  hydrocarbons  (paraffins,  olefin,  ethin,  etc.)  and 
their  immediate  derivatives  ;  alcohols  and  ethers  (comprising  among  the  triatomic 
alcohols  glycerin,  and  among  the  hexatomic  alcohols  mannit,  the  sugars  and  other 
carbohydrates)  ;  amine*,  aldehyds,  ketones,  acids  and  amides.  The  other  groups 
are  the  aromatic  group  or  benzene  derivatives  (subdivided  similar  to  the  preceding} 
the  indigo  group  j  diphenyl  group;  naphthalene  group,  and  anthracene  group. 
These  are  followed  by  the  terpenes  and  camphors,  glucosides,  bitter  principles, 
coloring  matters,  alkaloids,  pectous  substances,  bile  constituents,  gelatinous  sub- 
stances, proteids  and  brain  constituents.  An  appendix  contains  a  number  of  valu- 
able tables. 
Medicinal  Plants;  being  Descriptions  with  Original  Figures  of  the  Principal  Plants 
employed  in  Medicine,  and  an  Account  of  their  Properties  and  Uses.  By  Robt. 
Bentley,  F.L.S.,  etc.,  and  Henry  /Trimen,  M.B.,  F.L.S.,  etc.  Philadelphia- 
Lindsay  &  Blakiston,  1878.    Price^each  part,  $2.00. 
Parts  29  and  30  contain  Amomum  melegueta,  Rose. ;  Cassia  marilandica,  Lin. ; 
Cinnamomum  camphora,  Nees ;  Erigeron#  heterophyllum,  Muhl. ;  Ferula  narthex, 
Boiss.  (asafoetida  of  Thibet) ;  Garcinia  Hanburii,  Hook,  (gamboge)  ;  Guaiacum  offi- 
cinale, Lin.  i  Indigofera  tinctoria,  Lin.  1  Juniperus  sabina,  Lin.}  Pistacia  lentiscus, 
Lin.  (mastic);  Pist.  terebinthus,  Lin.  (Chian  turpentine);  Sassafras  officinale,  Lin  -t 
Styrax  benzoic,  Drjander,  and  Tylophora  asthmatica,  W.  and  Am., (Indian  ipeca- 
cuanha). 
