90 
EDITORIAL. 
in  the  Inorganic  portion  ;  whilst  a  supplement  embracing  the  more  bulky 
additions  to  the  fourth  English  edition  of  the  Organic  part,  without  any 
reference  to  them  in  the  text,  constitutes  the  revision  of  the  Organic 
volume!  It  was  with  surprise  that  we  found  the  Editor,  in.  view  of  the 
numerous  additions  and  alterations  made  by  Dr.  Gregory,  had  lent  his  aid 
in  sending  out  so  imperfect  a  volume,  calculated  as  it  is  to  give  a  wrong 
impression  of  the  valuable  treatise  of  which  it  professes  to  be  a  reproduc- 
tion, whilst  in  reality  its  text  is  nine  years  old.  It  is  but  a  small  matter 
that  the  leading  additions  are  to  be  found  in  the  supplement — they  there 
stand  disconnected  from  the  text,  which  often  contradicts  them,  and  no 
marginal  notes  refer  the  reader  to  the  discoveries  and  modifications  of 
theory  which  may  be  there  found.  On  carefully  comparing  the  "  Hand- 
book of  Organic  Chemistry"  with  the  fourth  English  edition,  page  for 
page,  we  find  so  many  omissions  from  the  former  that  it  will  be  impossi- 
ble in  the  space  at  command  to  enumerate  them.  The  more  prominent, 
such  as  the  view  of  homologous  series  of  organic  compounds,  the  account 
of  the  series  of  artificial  organic  bases,  methyl  and  ethyl  radicals  and  their 
amide  bases  and  compounds  with  the  metals  of  which  methylamin  and 
bismethyl  are  types,  chloroform,  the  new  benzole  compounds,  and  several 
others,  are  contained  in  the  appendix,  without  any  notes  to  point  the 
student  to  what  part  of  the  text  they  belong ;  whilst  a  large  number  of 
important  paragraphs  throwing  new  light  on  subjects  or  modifying  old 
opinions,  are  not  noticed^  in  any  way  by  the  Editor.  Of  such  we  may 
instance  the  anhydrides  of  the  organic  acids  ;  Dr.  Playfair's  nitroprus- 
sides  ;  Pasteur's  observations  in  reference  to  the  action  of  heat  on  the  cin- 
chona alkalies  and  on  tartaric  acid  ;  the  relation  of  asparagin  to  malic  acid 
as  malamide,  and  the  relations  of  these  to  succinic  acid ;  the  later  views 
relative  to  tannic  acid ;  Gerhardt's  views  of  the  action  of  heat  on  kinic 
acid ;  new  observations  on  the  carbo-hydrogen  essential  oils  and  especi- 
ally on  oil  of  turpentine ;  on  the  oxygenated  essential  oils  and  on  the 
sulphuretted  oils ;  the  recent  results  of  Anderson  and  Greville  Williams  on 
the  artificial  organic  bases ;  the  new  methylic  and  ethylic  compounds  of 
nicotia  and  conia  of  Kerule  and  Planta ;  the  very  important  and  inter- 
esting discoveries  relative  to  the  cinchona  alkalies,  including  quinidia, 
cinchonidia,  Pasteur's  derivative  alkaloids,  quinicin  and  cinchonicin, 
Herapath's  iodoquinia,  and  the  methyl  and  ethyl  compounds  of  these 
bases,  which  are  artificial  alkaloids  analogous  to  ammonia ;  the  analagous 
bases  from  morphia  and  codeia ;  and  various  new  facts  relative  to  the  sac- 
charine bodies.  Our  space  will  not  allow  of  a  further  enumeration  of 
hese  omissions,  but  the  above  will  give  some  idea  of  the  shortcomings  of 
the  Editor  in  reference  to  the  new  matter  of  the  fourth  edition.  It  is  a 
cause  of  deep  regret  that  the  best  work  on  organic  chemistry  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  should  in  this  manner  be  deprived  of  much  of  its  value  to 
the  American  student,  merely  to  subserve  the  interest  of  the  publisher  in 
