Am.  Jour.  Phaem. 
Dec.  1,  1872. 
[  }  Reviews  and  Bibliographical  Notices, 
571 
man  army  was  comparatively  exempt  from  this  disease.  The  author  attributes 
this  to  the  pea-sausages  with  which  the  Germans  were  provided,  and  which 
contained  not  only  salt,  but  all  the  necessary  ingredients  the  human  body  re- 
quires for  health  and  vigor. — and  to  the  scarcity  of  salt  particularly  in  the 
besieged  cities.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  advocates 
of  vaccination  account  for  the  above  mentioned  facts  by  the  compulsory  re- 
vaccination  in  the  German,  and  the  want  of  this  measure  in  the  French  army. 
The  author  regards  the  facts  cited  by  him  not  as  conclusive  proofs  (except 
for  himself),  but  advises  that  his  views  be  tested  by  others,  since  no  harm  can 
come  from  them,  and  the  experiments  cost  nothing. 
The  appendix  contains  an  essay  against  vaccination  ;  vaccine  matter,  except 
when  taken  from  the  heifer,  being  regarded  by  the  author  to  be  essentially  pus. 
It  is  strange  that  he  avers,  on  page  56,  that  statistics  are  very  unreliable,  while 
he  attempts  to  fortify  his  own  position  by  statistical  data.  The  statement,  on 
page  52,  that  "saltpetre  is  a  nitrogenous  combination,  and  consequently  allied 
to  albumen  instead  of  its  opposite,  as  salt,"  is  entirely  incorrect,  as  the  two 
substances  have  no  analogy,  either  in  chemical  composition  or  in  their  effects 
upon  organisms.  * 
The  subject  of  the  treatise  is  an  important  one,  but  it  appears  to  us  that  if 
the  author's  views  were  correct,  small-pox  should  be,  if  not  epidemic,  at  least 
of  continual  occurrence  in  most  communities,  since  the  excessive  or  insufficient 
use  of  salt  by  individuals,  or  certain  classes  of  the  population,  does,  probably, 
not  vary  to  any  great  extent.  The  theories,  however,  seem  to  deserve  the 
careful  consideration  of  the  medical  profession,  and  an  unbiased  scrutiny  by 
physiological  experiments. 
Constitution,  By-laws,  Articles  of  Incorporation  and  Proceedings  of  the  third 
annual  meeting  of  the  California  Pharmaceutical  Society,  held  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, October.  1871.  Also  the  Roll  of  Members.  Ban  Francisco  :  Printed 
by  Joseph  Winterburn  <fe  Co.    1872.    8vo.    36  pages. 
We  have  already  reported  on  the  Proceedings  of  the  third  meeting  of  this 
Society,  on  page  520  of  the  last  and  on  page  335  of  the  present  volume,  and 
have  given,  on  page  289  of  our  May  number,  an  abstract  of  the  provisions  of 
the  San  Francisco  pharmaceutical  law,  which  is  printed  in  the  appendix  of  the 
above  pamphlet. 
Transactions  of  the  Minnesota  State  Medical  Society.  Minneapolis  :  Johnson 
&  Smith,  printers.    1872.    8vo.    pp.  120. 
It  contains  the  transactions  of  this  Society  at  its  third  and  fourth  annual 
meetings,  held  in  June,  1871,  and  February,  1872. 
Twenty -ninth  annual  Report  of  the  Managers  of  the  State  Lunatic  Society,  for 
the  year  1871.  Transmitted  to  the  Legislature  March  6,  1872.  Albany  :  The 
Argus  Company,  printers.    1872.    8vo.    pp.  87. 
The  pamphlet  contains  the  reports  of  the  Managers,  the  Treasurer  and  the 
Superintendent,  the  latter  containing  some  valuable  observations  and  sugges- 
tions. 
