I 
Reviews.  613 
specific  gravities  under  various  conditions,  the  exercises  proceed  to  the  exsicca- 
tion of  salts,  the  purification  of  crystals  by  recrystallization,  and  the  prepara- 
tion of  chemical  solutions,  crystals,  tinctures,  fluid  extracts,  syrups,  plasters, 
etc.,  and  conclude  with  the  reading  and  dispensing  of  prescriptions.  As  will 
be  observed  it  is  a  work  for  practical  use,  and  it  is  designed  to  be  used  as  a  note 
and  memorandum  book,  being  interleaved,  and  upon  the  printed  pages,  at  the 
end  of  each  exercise,  provided  with  a  series  of  printed  memoranda,  containing 
blanks  to  be  filled  out  by  the  student.  Aside  from  the  usefulness  of  these 
memoranda  as  a  check  upon  the  correct  execution  of  the  work,  they  will 
inculcate  habits  of  observation,  which  must  be  of  lasting  value  to  the  students 
in  the  future. 
Twenty-second  annual  Report  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  of  Massachu- 
setts.   Boston  :  1891.    8vo.  Pp.  588. 
The  publication  contains  reports  on  water  supply,  sewerage,  food  and  drug 
inspection,  mortality,  etc.  Reports  on  food  were  made  by  Dr.  Harrington 
and  Davenport  ;  on  milk  by  Prof.  Goessmann,  Davenport  and  Worcester  ;  and 
on  drugs  by  Prof.  Davenport. 
History  of  Circumcision  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present  ;  moral  and 
physical  reasons  for  its  performance,  with  a  history  of  Eunuchism,  Herinaph- 
rodism,  etc.,  and  of  the  different  operations  practised  upon  the  prepuce. 
By  P.  C.  Remondino,  M.D.  (Jefferson),  etc.  Philadelphia  and  London  :  F. 
A.  Davis.    1891.    i2mo.    Pp.  x  and  346.    Price,  cloth,  $1.25  net. 
The  title,  as  given  above,  explains  the  scope  of  the  work,  which  deals  with  a 
custom  of  great  antiquity,  having  originated  under  certain  climatic  conditions, 
and  being  practised  to  some  extent  as  a  religious  rite,  but  much  more  exten- 
sively as  an  inherited  custom  and,  according  to  the  author,  in  modern  times 
also  as  a  measure  of  hygiene.  The  subject  is  treated  with  delicacy  and  frank- 
ness, the  historical  information  being  of  general  interest,  also  the  hygienic 
discussions,  while  obviously  the  chapters  relating  to  surgical  operations  and 
the  like  are  intended  especially  for  physicians.  The  book  forms  No.  11  of  the 
Physicians'  and  Students'  Ready  Reference  Series. 
Ueber  Einwirkungen  des  Cyanwasserstoffs,  des  Chloralhydrats  und  des 
Chloralcyanhydrins  auf  Enzyme,  auf  keimfahige  Pflanzensamen  und  auf 
niedere  Pilze,  von  Ed.  Schar,  Professor  der  Pharmacie  am  Eidgenossischen 
Poly  technikum  in  Zurich.  Zurich:  Albert  Miiller's  Verlag.    1891.  Fol.,  p.  25. 
On  the  effects  of  hydrogen  cyanide,  of  chloral  hydrate  and  of  chloral  cyan- 
hydrin  upon  enzymes,  upon  fertile  plant-seeds  and  upon  some  low  fungi. 
An  interesting  series  of  experiments  demonstrating  that  certain  seeds  are 
not  prevented  from  germinating  when  under  the  influence  of  solutions  of  defi- 
nite strength  of  the  chemicals  named,  while  other  seeds  showed  little  or  no 
power  of  resistance  in  this  respect.  The  essay  forms  one  of  the  contributions 
to  the  jubilee  volume,  issued  by  the  higher  educational  institutions  of  Zurich, 
in  commemoration  of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  doctorates  of  Professor  Carl 
Wilhelm  von  Nageli,  in  Munich,  and  of  Professor  Albert  von  Kolliker,  in 
Wiirzburg. 
All  around  the  Year. — A  calendar  for  18.92.    Designs  by  J.  Pauline  Sunter. 
Boston:  I,ee  &  Shepard.    Price,  in  box,  50  cents. 
This  calendar  is  composed  of  heavy,  gilt-edged  cards,  4%  *  5}4  inches, 
Am.  Jour.  Pharin. 
Dec,  1891. 
