Reviews  and  Bibliographical  Notices.  285 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
Tables  of  Mortality,  forming  part  of  the  Vital  Statistics  of  the  United  States, 
Ninth  Census,  1870.    Washington,  D.  0.,  1872.    4to,  423  pages. 
We  have  been  favored  by  Mr.  Francis  A.  Walker,  Superintendent  of  the 
Census  Office,  Department  of  the  Interior,  with  a  copy  of  the  advance  sheets 
of  the  above-named  tables,  which  are  nine  in  number.  These  returns  of  mor 
tality,  made  under  the  act  of  1850,  are  not  assumed  to  include  the  entire  body 
of  deaths  occurring  during  the  census  year  ;  but  the  tables  are  valuable,  distrib- 
uting as  they  do  nearly  half  a  million  (492,263)  of  deaths,  according  to  disease, 
age,  sex,  nativity,  race,  color  and  occupation,  as  well  as  the  month  in  which  the 
deaths  occurred.  A  discussion  of  the  bearings  of  this  subject  is  promised  for 
the  final  publication,  and  will  doubtless  be  extremely  interesting  to  the  statis- 
tician. We  now  remark  that  there  has  been  reported  for  the  year  1870  only 
one  death  for  78'33  inhabitants  (total  number  of  inhabitants,  38,555,983).  Of 
the  number  reported  260,673  were  males,  and  231,500  were  females.  Of  2*4 
deaths  of  males  and  of  2'47  deaths  of  females,  one  child  under  5  years  was  car- 
ried off.  The  deaths  by  poison  numbered  2351  males  (1410  by  alcohol,  31  by 
lead,  and  910  by  other  poisons  not  specified)  and  599  females  (249  by  alcohol,  2 
by  lead,  and  349  by  other  poisons).  The  poisons  "  not  specified  "  must  include 
suicides,  murders,  fatal  mistakes  and  accidents  by  poison.  Their  proportion 
to  the  entire  number  of  reported  deaths  of  the  respective  sexes  was,  therefore, 
0*349  per  ct.  among  the  males  and  0*1502  among  the  females. 
We  cannot  ascertain  the  mortality  of  apothecaries  and  druggists,  since  table 
viii  recognizes  only  the  following  occupations  :  agriculturists,  clergymen,  labor- 
ers, lawyers,  merchants  and  clerks,  mill  and  factory  operatives,  all  other  me- 
chanics, physicians  and  teachers. 
The  Physiological  and  Therapeutical  Action  of  the  Bromide  of  Potassium  and 
Bromide  of  Ammonium.  In  two  parts.  By  Edward  H.  Clarke,  M.  D.,  and 
Eobert  Amory,  M.  D.  Boston  :  James  Campbell.  1872.  12mo,  178  pages. 
Price,  $1.50. 
The  work  consists  of  two  monographs,  supplementary  to  each  other,  Part  I 
treating  of  the  "Therapeutical  Action  of  Bromide  of  Potassium  and  its  Kin- 
dred Salts,"  while  Part  II  has  the  "  Physiological  Action  of  Bromides  of  Pot- 
assium and  Ammonium"  for  its  subject.  The  latter,  written  by  Dr.  Amory 
and  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  a  few 
years  ago,  was  received  with  such  favor  that  another  edition  became  necessary. 
The  propositions  of  this  essay  are  stated  as  follows  : 
A.  Bromide  of  potassium  is  absorbed  readily  by  any  portion  of  the  healthy 
mucous  membrane  with  which  it  is  placed  in  contact. 
B.  It  is  largely  and  mainly  eliminated  with  the  urine  ;  during  the  first  day 
the  largest  portion  passes  out  of  the  system,  less  during  the  second  day,  and 
so  on  until  there  is  none  left  in  the  system. 
C.  The  skin  assists  in  the  elimination  of  this  drug  from  the  system  on  the 
second  as  well  as  on  the  first  day. 
D.  The  loss  of  reflex  action  is  due  to  the  diminution  of  blood  in  the  periphery 
of  the  nerves,  and  also  of  the  central  nervous  system,  this  last  occurring  after 
the  first. 
