634 
Reviews. 
Am.  Jonr.  Phsirm,-, 
Dec,  18S5. 
plants  have  been  admitted,  wliich  have  attracted  more  or  less  attention  as 
remedies,  or  which  are  cultivated  for  ornament ;  usually  the  common  name 
of  the  plant  is  also  given,  in  addition  to  its  habitat,  the  part  u?ed  and  the 
medical  properties,  thus  affording  concise  references  which  will  often  prove 
quite  convenient.  Considering  tlie  multitude  of  plants  which  enjoy  a  local 
or  more  extended  reputation,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  names  of  alii 
should  have  found  a  place  here  ;  indeed,  omissions  may  usually  be  pointed 
out  in  works  devoted  especially  to  medical  botany,  and  it  is  therefore  no- 
fault  that  occasionally  the  name  of  an  American  plant  like  Mahonia  is  not 
found,  while  others  which  are  now  rarely  met  with  in  medical  or  pharma- 
ceutical literature  have  their  allotted  ]:)lace.  In  very  rare  cases  only,  as  far 
as  we  have  examined  the  text,  could  we  wish  for  corrections  or  for  more 
exact  explanations  ;  thus  on  page  198  Dryobalanops  campiiora  is  said  to  be 
"the  tree  which  affords  camphor  in  greatest  quantity,"  and  on  page  750 
triticin  is  stated  to  be  "the  gluten  of  wheat."  That  the  names  of  all  drugs, 
chemicals  and  pharmaceuticals,  recognized  by  the  present  or  former  Phar- 
macopoeia are  mentioned  and  explained  with  reference  to  the  authority, 
falls  very  properly  within  the  scope  of  the  work,  but  we  doubt  the  utility 
of  giving  working  formulas  for  tinctures,  troches  and  the  like  ;  it  seems  to 
us  that  for  a  pronouncing  dictionary  simple  explanations  are  quite  appro- 
priate and  suiticient,  such  as  have  been  made  use  of  for  most  of  the  extracts^ 
and  fluid  extracts.  For  example  :  Extract.  Colocynth.  comp.  is  defined  to- 
be  "a  preparation  containing  colocynth,  aloes,  cardamom  and  scammony  " 
(and  soap  might  have  been  added);  Extract.  Gentianse,  "an  aqueous- 
extract  of  gentian  ;"  Extr.  Valer.  fluid.,  "a  fluid  extract  of  valerian,  one 
cubic  centimetre  representing  one  gramme  of  valerian;"  the  processes 
have  been  very  properly  omitted  in  these  cases. 
For  some  years  past  the  word  official  has  been  used  by  some  authors  to 
denote  such  articles  which  are  recognized  by  ^the  pharmacopoeias.  Dr. 
Thomas,  in  not  admitting  this  word,  seems  to  consider  the  above  applica- 
tion as  being  improper,  with  which  view  we  coincide,  preferring  the  adjec- 
tive jjhftrmacopceial,  "of,  or  belonging  to,  a  pharmacopoeia,"  as  defined  by 
the  author.  His  definition  for  officinal  is  "  a  term  applied  to  such  medi- 
cines as  are  directed  by  the  colleges  to  be  prepared  or  kept  in  shops." 
Having  thus  spoken  at  length  of  the  dictionary  itself,  and  explained  its 
great  usefulness  to  tlie  pharmacist  and  physician,  as  well  as  to  tiie  student,, 
we  can  only  briefiy  refer  to  the  Appendix,  the  first  eighteen  pages  of  which,: 
under  the  title  of  "  explanation  of  Latin  terms,  phrases,  etc.,"  give  the 
rules  and  examples  of  the  declension  of  nouns,  adjectives  and  pronouns^ 
the  comparison,  use  and  application  of  adjectives,  etc.,  and  contain  several 
tables  of  nouns  and  adjectives,  grouped  together  and  selected  with  special 
reference  to  pharmacy  and  medicine. 
The  chapter  "on  writing  prescriptions"  addresses  itself  more  particu. 
larly  to  the  physician  and  medical  student,  with  reference  to  the  proper 
construction  of  prescriptions  as  far  as  language  is  concerned,  and  is  fol- 
lowed by  tables  of  doses,  of  chemical  symbols,  of  the  orders  and  families  of 
the  living  mammalia,  and  of  weights  and  measures. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  this  book  possesses  great  value  as 
