Am.  Jour.  Pliarin. 
Oct.,  1891. 
Reviews. 
517 
Journal  of  Pharmacy.  The  Pharmaceutical  Journal  and  Transactions  of 
December  6,  1890,  contains  a  paper  by  T.  P.  Anderson  Stuart,  M.D.,  Professor 
in  the  University  of  Sydney,  in  which  it  is  shown  that  no  such  honey  is  known 
in  any  part  of  Australia  or  Tasmania  ;  that  the  stingless  black  bee  of  Australia, 
Trigona  carbonaria,  Smith,  builds  its  nest  in  a  hollow  tree,  the  hive  rarely 
exceeding  one  foot  cube  ;  that  the  flowers  of  the  eucalypts  have  not  the  odor 
of  eucalyptus  oil,  which  is  procured  from  the  leaves  ;  and  that  the  honey,  even 
if  taken  from  hives  located  in  eucalyptus  trees,  never  contains  any  appreciable 
amount  of  eucalyptol.  During  the  discussion  before  the  Pharmaceutical 
Society  in  London,  following  the  reading  of  Dr.  Stuart's  paper,  different  sam- 
ples of  honey  were  exhibited,  which  were  stated  to  have  been  gathered  in 
eucalyptus  districts,  and  of  which  none  had  the  odor  of  eucalyptus  oil  ;  such 
true  eucalyptus  honey  could  not  have  the  properties  of  eucalyptol,  and 
whether  its  properties  differed  from  those  of  good  European  honey  had  not 
been  determined.  More  recently,  the  curator  of  the  Technological  Museum 
at  Sydney,  J.  H.  Maiden,  has  published  a  card  {The  Chemist  and  Druggist, 
July  11,  page  60),  declaring  it  as  his  intent,  not  to  let  the  matter  rest  unsettled, 
and  making  the  following  offer  :  "  Eucalyptus  honey  is  said  to  contain  15  to 
17  per  cent,  of  eucalyptol.  I  will  pay  ^5  to  the  Benevolent  Fund  of  the  Phar- 
maceutical Society  if  a  sample  of  Australian  natural  eucalyptus  honey  can  be 
produced  containing  only  5  per  cent,  even  of  eucalyptol.  The  only  conditions 
I  impose  are  that  I  receive  herbarium  specimens  of  the  eucalyptus  concerned, 
and  be  given  the  precise  locality  ;  and  I  will  undertake  that  I  (or  a  deputy) 
will  visit  the  spot  and  examine  the  evidence  in  any  part  of  Australia.  ...  If 
I  am  proved  to  be  wrong,  I  will  acknowledge  it  like  a  man.  ...  At  present 
I  pronounce  this  eucalyptus-honey  romance  to  be  one  of  the  most  impudent 
impositions  on  the  credulity  of  medical  men  and  pharmacists  that  I  have 
heard  of  in  connection  with  Australian  products." 
As  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  the  eucalyptus  honey  referred  to  is 
but  little  known  in  the  United  States. 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
Chemistry  of  the  Carbon  Compounds,  or  Organic  Chemistry .  By  Prof. 
Victor  von  Richter,  University  of  Breslau.  Authorized  translation  by  Edgar 
F.  Smith,  Prof,  of  Chemistry,  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Second  American 
edition  from  the  sixth  German  edition.  With  illustrations.  Philadelphia  :  P. 
Blakiston,  Son  &  Co.    1891.    i2mo.    Pp.  1040. 
An  excellent  work  is  here  presented  to  the  student  of  organic  chemistry, 
beginning  with  the  scope  of  that  discipline,  the  various  methods  of  organic 
analysis,  the  chemical  structure  and  the  physical  properties  of  the  carbon  com- 
pounds. The  special  part  considers  the  various  compounds  arranged  in  two 
classes,  the  derivatives  of  methane  or  fatty  compounds,  and  the  derivatives  of 
benzene  or  aromatic  compounds.  The  subdivisions  and  grouping  in  both 
classes  are  in  accordance  with  the  most  modern  views  of  theoretical  composi- 
tion, and  aid  very  materially  in  intelligently  comprehending  the  chemical 
relations  of  the  numerous  compounds  ;  theory  and  fact  are  blended  together 
harmoniously  and  present  to  the  student  all  that  is  essential  to  knowledge, 
while  special  details  of  methods  and  properties  are  frequently  indicated  by 
