Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
October,  1896.  f 
Reviews. 
58i 
tory,  the  National  Formulary,  and  other  authoritative  works.  Part  II  is  devoted 
to  household  remedies.  Part  III  gives  the  formulas  of  proprietary  prepara- 
tions, and  cannot  but  remove  the  magic  which  surrounds  many  of  the  well- 
known  nostrums  of  the  present  day.  Part  IV  includes  veterinary  preparations. 
Part  V,  toilet  preparations.  Part  VI,  soda  water  requisites,  and  Part  VII, 
miscellaneous. 
Much  care  has  been  exercised  in  constructing  the  various  formulas,  so  as  to 
adapt  them  to  the  preparations  which  are  kept  in  stock  in  this  country.  We 
regret  that  it  has  not  been  adapted  to  the  metric  system  ;  but  we  presume  the 
authors  had  in  mind  that  class  of  pharmacists  who  are  least  likely  to  use  the 
metric  system,  and  are,  therefore,  most  in  need  of  just  such  information  as  is 
contained  in  this  book. 
We  predict  for  the  work  a  wide  circulation,  for  it  deserves  it. 
Ptoma'ins,  Leucomains,  Toxins  and  Antitoxins,  or  The  Chemical  Fac- 
tors in  the  Causation  of  Disease.  By  Victor  C.  Vaughan,  Ph.D.,  M.D.,  and 
Frederick  G.  Novy,  Sc.D.,  M.D.  Third  edition,  revised  and  enlarged.  Lea 
Bros.  &  Co.,  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  1896. 
We  are  told  by  the  authors  that  "it  is  now  generally  recognized  that  those 
diseases  which  cause  the  greatest  mortality  and,  consequently,  are  of  the  great- 
est importance,  are  in  reality  cases  of  poisoning.  »  *  *  Not  only  are  there 
chemical  factors  in  the  causation  of  disease,  but  specific  chemical  agents  are 
now  being  employed  in  the  prevention  and  cure  of  disease." 
It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  this  work  is  a  necessity  to  both  chemist  and 
physician. 
Every  part  of  the  book  is  interesting  ;  but  one  is  naturally  impressed  by  the 
chapter  on  the  history  of  bacterial  poisons,  in  which  the  very  few  investigations 
reported  a  century  ago  gradually  led  on  to  others,  until,  in  the  decade  from 
1880  to  1890,  the  well-known  discoveries  came  thick  and  fast,  including  that  of 
tyrotoxicon,  by  Vaughan.  From  1890  to  the  present,  still  more  rapid  progress 
has  been  made,  and  the  outcome  has  been  diphtheria  antitoxin,  as  well  as  a 
number  of  other  substances  of  analogoiis  character,  which  give  promise  of 
being  valuable. 
The  foods  liable  to  contain  bacterial  poisons  are  enumerated,  and  a  chapter 
is  devoted  to  the  methods  used  in  their  examination.  Another  chapter  is 
devoted  to  Immunity,  Antitoxins  and  Serum  Therapy.  As  the  title  of  the  book 
indicates,  the  ptoma'ins  and  leucomains  receive  due  consideration.  In  the  face 
of  such  a  large  amount  of  material,  and  the  almost  unlimited  and  unexplored 
field  which  this  subject  leads  into,  the  least  that  can  be  said  is  that  every  one 
who  has  to  do  with  chemistry  and  toxicology  should  study  the  600  pages  which 
make  up  this  book. 
Canaigre.  By  Robert  H.  Forbes.  Bulletin  No.  21  of  the  Arizona  Agricul- 
tural Experiment  Station,  University  of  Arizona,  Tucson.    July,  1896. 
The  literature  of  Canaigre,  Rumex  hymenosepalus,  is  not  very  extensive. 
Some  of  the  first  notices  of  it  have  appeared  in  this  Journal.  At  the 
present  day  the  root  of  canaigre  is  considerably  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  leather,  and  is  cultivated  for  the  purpose.  The  original  idea  that 
there  was  sufficient  of  it  growing  wild  in   Arizona  and   New  Mexico  to 
