Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Jan.,  1884. 
Reviews,  etc. 
53 
tals  dissolve  ;  the  difficulty  about  preparing  it  is  to  obtain  a  pure  aldehyd, 
while  a  considerable  amount  of  it  was  offered  as  pure  there  was  but  little 
that  was  really  so. 
Dr.  Miller  stated  that  he  had  lately  had  occasion  to  test  the  solubility 
of  Olibanum,  and  was  surprised  to  find  upon  treating  it  with  oil  of  tur- 
pentine that  nearly  fifty  per  cent,  of  insoluble  matter  was  present,  a  good 
portion  of  which  seemed  to  be  of  a  calcareous  nature. 
There  being  no  further  business,  the  meeting  adjourned. 
T.  S.  Wiegakd,  Registrar. 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
Botanical  Microchemistry.  An  introduction  to  the  study  of  vegetable  his- 
tology. Prepared  for  the  use  of  students,  by  V.  A.  Poulsen.  Translated 
with  the  assistance  of  the  author  and  considerably  enlarged  by  Wm. 
Trelease,  Professor  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  Boston  :  S.  E.  Cas- 
sino  &  Co  ,  1884,  pp.  118. 
Mr.  Poulson's  little  work  made  its  first  appearance  in  Denmark  in  1880, 
and  in  the  following  year  a  German  translation  of  it  was  published.  AVhen 
we  first  began  to  consult  it  we  found  it  of  such  great  value,  that  we  regretted 
that  it  was  not  available  to  a  large  number  of  the  students  in  microscopy  in 
this  country.  This  want  has  now  been  supplied  by  Prof.  Trelease,  and  we 
take  great  pleasure  in  recommending  it  to  all  microscopists.  The  treatise 
describes  the  different  reagents  used  under  the  microscope  and  their  appli- 
cation, also  the  most  important  mounting  media  and  cements.  The  second 
part  treats  of  the  different  vegetable  substances,  organized  and  unorganized, 
and  the  methods  of  recognizing  them. 
As  compared  with  the  German  edition,  the  work  has  been  considerably 
amplified  by  the  author,  and  a  number  of  valuable  additions  have  been 
made  by  the  editor  and  translator,  who  has  performed  his  task  very  credit- 
ably. We  would,  however,  suggest  more  consistency  in  the  chemical 
nomenclature ;  there  is  no  obvious  reason  why  alongside  of  potassic  hydrate, 
ferrocyanide  and  nitrate,  we  should  have  chlorate  of  potassium;  or  why  for 
the  chloride  and  acetate  of  iron,  the  ferric  compounds  should  not  be  dis- 
tinctly indicated  by  the  name,  the  more  so  since  in  the  text  it  is  not  stated 
whether  the  ferrous  or  ferric  compounds  are  intended.  The  German  desig- 
nation "Chlorzinkjod"  is  descriptive  for  a  solution  of  iodine  in  zinc  chloride ; 
but  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  "  chlor-iodide  of  zinc." 
A  Manual  of  Chemistry,  physical  and  inorganic.  By  Henry  Watts,  B.A., 
F.R.S.,  editor  of  the  Journal  of  the  Chemical  Society ;  author  of  "  a  Dic- 
tionary of  Chemistry."    Philadelphia:  P.  Blackiston,  Son  &  Co.,  1884. 
The  author  states  in  the  preface  that  the  work  is  founded  on  the  well- 
known  "  Manual  of  Chemistry  "  of  the  late  Professor  Fownes,  a  work  which 
has  been  long  and  favorably  known  also  in  the  United  States,  where  it  has 
been  used  as  one  of  the  most  favorite  text-books  for  students  in  chemistry. 
Although  the  name  of  Fownes  does  not  appear  upon  the  title  page,  the 
present  is  merely  a  new  edition  of  the  original  work,  retaining  all  the 
excellencies  of  the  latter  and  revised  so  as  to  represent  the  general  principles 
