Am.  Jour.  Pharni. ) 
Aug.,  1885.  J 
Revietvs,  etc. 
413 
has  evidently  been  bestowed  upon  the  book,  so  as  to  keep  it  abreast  of 
modern  science,  and  to  render  it  still  more  useful  as  a  guide  to  the  beginner 
in  chemical  analysis. 
Commercial  Organic  Analysis.  A  treatise  on  the  properties,  proximate 
analytical  examination  and  modes  of  assaying  the  various  organic  chemi- 
cals and  products  employed  in  the  arts,  manufactures  and  medicine  ;  with 
concise  methods  for  the  detection  and  determination  of  their  impurities, 
adulterations  and  products  of  decomposition.  By  Alfred  H.  Allen,  F.  I. 
C,  F.  C.  S.,  etc.  Second  edition,  revised  and  enlarged.  Vol.1.  Intro- 
duction, alcohols,  neutral  alcoholic  derivatives,  sugars,  starch  and  its 
isomers,  vegetable  acids,  etc.  Philadelphia:  P.  Blakiston,  Son  &  Co., 
1885.    8vo,  Pp.  476.    Price  $4.50. 
On  the  appearance  of  the  first  edition  this  work  was  received  as  a  most 
valuable  one,  and  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been  used  as  a  guide  for  deter- 
mining the  commercial  purity  of  organic  substances  has  shown  it  to  be 
practical  and  reliable;  for  it  contained  not  only  the  results  and  observations 
of  the  author's  extended  experience,  with  analytical  processes,  but  the 
literature  on  the  subject  matter  had  been  carefully  scrutinized  and  adapted 
to  the  plan  of  the  work.  In  these  respects  the  second  edition  now  before 
us  is  fully  equal  to  the  preceding  one,  and  will  doubtless  prove  to  be  an 
equally  trustworthy  guide,  embodying  pretty  much  all  the  information 
known  on  the  subject  up  to  the  time  of  placing  the  work  in  the  printer's 
hands. 
A  rearrangement  of  the  material  has  been  found  desirable,  and  the  in- 
creased scope  and  numerous  necessary  additions  will  enlarge  the  work  to 
three  volumes,  instead  of  two  as  heretofore.  The  first  volume  is  now  before 
us,  and  its  contents  are  as  above  indicated.  The  introductory  portion  treats 
of  the  various  operations  and  apparatus  for  the  examination  and  analysis 
of  organic  bodies.  The  alcohols  considered  are  methyl,  ethyl  and  amyl- 
alcohol,  and  alcoholic  beverages  and  liquids.  The  alcoholic  derivatives 
embrace  the  ethers,  aldehydes,  chloral  and  chloroform.  About  130  pages 
are  devoted  to  the  various  kinds  of  sugar,  60  pages  to  vegetable  fibres,  starch, 
dextrin  and  gums,  and  the  remaining  90  pages  to  the  commercial  organic 
acids  and  their  salts.  The  processes  by  which  these  articles  are  prepared, 
are  briefly  given,  then  their  properties,  followed  by  the  means  for  identifi- 
cation and  tests  of  purity,  the  information  on  these  latter  topics  being  quite 
exhaustive. 
The  remaining  volumes  which  are  promised  to  follow  in  rapid  succession, 
will  contain  the  following  subjects  :  Vol.  II.  Fixed  oils  and  fats,  tannins, 
hydrocarbons,  phenols  and  their  allies  and  derivatives,  coloring  matters, 
etc.  Volume  III.  Cyanogen  compounds,  alkaloids  and  organic  bases,  albu- 
minoids, etc. 
List  of  Tests  (Reagents)  arranged  in  alphabetical  order  according  to  the 
names  of  the  originators.  Designed  especially  for  the  convenient  refer- 
ence of  chemists,  pharmacists  and  scientists.  By  Hans  M.  Wilder.  New 
York  :  P.  W.  Bedford,  1885.    12mo,  pp.  88.    Price  $1. 
We  are  greatly  pleased  to  observe  that  the  little  pamphlet  which  we 
noticed  on  page  56  of  this  volume  has  been  speedily  followed  by  a  more  ex- 
