222  Comments  on  Magendie's  Formulary,   j^""'  -^TpriPrj^zo'. 
now  use  litmus  paper.  The  words  chloruret  for  chloride  and  super- 
tartrate  for  bitartrate  are  still  intelligible. 
One  of  the  odd  things  noted  is  that  Iceland  Moss  (Cetraria)  was 
called  Liverwort,  and  another  that  Opium  was  classed  with  the 
gum-resins. 
One  striking  difference  from  modern  books  covering  similar 
ground  is  the  complete  absence  of  chemical  symbols  or  formulas. 
Although  Dalton's  atomic  theory  had  been  published  fifteen  years 
prior  to  the  appearance  of  this  work  it  is  apparent  that  it  had  not 
been  generally  accepted,  at  least  by  authors  in  other  countries. 
The  most  outstanding  feature  of  a  cursory  study  of  the  book  is  the 
great  amount  of  credit  given  to  pharmacists  for  discoveries  of  value, 
among  the  pharmacists  thus  honored  are  Derosne,  Pelletier,  Caven- 
tou,  Serturner,  Boullay,  Robiquet,  Hecht,  Henry,  Pessina,  Desfosses, 
Vauquelin  and  Brandes.  This  reminds  us  of  the  fact  that  the  phar- 
macy of  that  period  embraced  not  only  what  is  now  considered  the 
professional  side  of  pharmacy  but  much  of  chemistry  as  well.  Many 
of  those  who  became  prominently  identified  with  the  development 
of  chemistry  obtained  their  training  and  experience  in  the  practice 
of  pharmacy  and  some,  as  Vauquelin,  remained  prominently  identi- 
fied with  pharmacy  during  the  whole  of  their  subsequent  careers. 
Medicine  was  more  dependent  upon  pharmacy  than  is  the  case 
to-day  and  there  being  no  large  pharmaceutical  nor  chemical  manu- 
facturing establishments,  where  scientific  progress  depends  largely 
upon  commercial  exploitations  of  the  product,  there  seems  to  have 
been  a  larger  number  of  scientific  workers  at  that  time  who  were 
interested  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  discoveries  which  could  be  made, 
than  at  any  subsequent  period  of  medical  and  pharmaceutical  de- 
velopment. 
It  is  not  the  intention  in  this  brief  review  of  the  book  to  make 
critical  study  of  the  subject  matter.  It  is  intended  only  to  give  to 
one  who  has  not  seen  the  book  an  idea  of  its  scope  and  character  and 
to  point  out  details  of  peculiar  or  particular  interest.  Thirty-five 
pages  are  given  to  the  consideration  of  the  manufacture  of  Morphine 
and  the  preparation  of  the  acetate  and  sulphate  of  the  alkaloid  with 
comments  upon  their  physiological  action.  It  is  stated  that  the 
result  of  the  analysis  of  opium  by  Derosne,  Sertuirner  and  Robiquet, 
shows  opium  to  be  composed  of  the  following  constituents:  (i) 
Fixed  oil;  (2)  matter  analogous  to  caoutchouc;  (3)  a  vegeto-animal 
substance  not  fully  investigated;  (4)  mucilage;  (5)  feculent  matter 
