220 
Edit  or  ia  I.  — Reviews. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1896. 
EDITORIAL. 
THE  SEVENTY-FIFTH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE  PHILADELPHIA  COLLEGE  OF 
PHARMACY. 
The  Philadelphia  College  of  Apothecaries  was  instituted  February  23,  1821. 
Organization  was  effected  about  one  month  later,  March  27,  when  officers  were 
elected.  The  present  year,  therefore,  is  the  appropriate  time  in  which  to  hold 
the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the  College.  Neither  of  the 
foregoing  dates  being  a  convenient  time  for  the  exercises  of  such  an  occasion, 
the  22d  of  April  was  selected  as  being  more  suitable.  At  that  time  the  celebra- 
tion will  take  the  nature  of  a  banquet  to  members  of  the  College,  the  Alumni 
Association  and  invited  guests. 
It  may  be  noted,  in  this  connection,  that  in  1871  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
the  College  was  celebrated  in  a  similar  manner.  Among  the  prominent 
speakers  on  that  occasion  were  Drs.  Rogers  and  Deidy,  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  ;  Dr.  S.  D.  Gross,  of  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  and  Profes- 
sors Parrish  and  Procter,  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy.  None  of 
these  men  have  survived  the  twenty-five  years  which  have  elapsed  since  then. 
THE  METRIC  SYSTEM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
We  are  gratified  to  note  that  a  bill  for  the  adoption  of  the  metric  system  of 
weights  and  measures  in  this  country,  similar  to  the  one  printed  last  month 
(  page  165),  has  been  favorably  reported  by  the  Committee  on  Coinage,  Weights 
and  Measures,  and  will,  no  doubt,  be  brought  up  at  some  future  time  before 
the  House  of  Representatives  for  action. 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
The  Science  of  Nutrition.  By  Edward  Atkinson.  Also,  The  Art  of 
Cooking  in  the  Aladdin  Oven,  with  directions  and  many  recipes.  Sixth 
thousand.    Boston:  Damrell  &  Upham,  1896. 
The  efforts  of  the  author  have  been  directed  to  the  perfection  of  a  scheme 
whereby  separate  families,  of  moderate  means,  living  in  their  own  houses,  may 
secure  wholesome,  nutritious  food,  well  cooked,  without  it  being  necessary  for 
any  member  of  the  family  to  devote  so  much  time  to  the  preparation  of  the 
food  as  might  seriously  hamper  the  effort  of  the  family  in  maintaining  itself. 
To  the  accomplishment  of  this  end,  he  has  invented  and  perfected  the  Aladdin 
oven,  with  which  the  cooking  for  an  ordinary -sized  family  may  be  accom- 
plished with  an  ordinary  kerosene  lamp.  The  principles  involved  consist, 
firstly,  in  utilizing  all  the  heat  evolved,  and,  secondly,  in  subjecting  the  food 
to  a  moderate  temperature  for  four  or  five  hours,  instead  of  one  hour  or  less, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  present  methods  of  cooking.  The  new  apparatus  being 
practically  air-tight,  the  food  is  not  allowed  to  become  dry  during  the  pro- 
longed heating;  on  the  contrary,  the  natural  moisture  and  flavor  are  retained. 
Dr.  Atkinson  has  long  been  known  as  a  political  economist  of  the  first  class, 
and  his  unselfish  labors  on  the  subject  of  foods  has  taken  practical  shape  in  the 
present  volume.  First  published  in  1892,  it  has, in  four  years,  made  many  con- 
verts to  the  new  methods.    Through  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie, 
