AFLebJr0uarryP^9()r3m■}    Reviews  and  Bibliographical.  Notices.  95 
so  valuable  a  paper ;  for  I  know  and  appreciate  the  labor  of  such  a 
task. 
While  on  this  subject,  I  would  state  I  am  a  confirmed  advocate 
of  the  decimal  system,  and  greatly  favor  expressing  formulae  by 
percentage  only  and  not  by  specific  weights. 
Our  duty  is  not  done  by  simply  being  pleased ;  but  this  inter- 
national tabulation,  and  any  other  literature  bearing  upon  the  sub- 
ject that  will  lead  to  uniformity  of  standard,  should  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  every  thinking  pharmacist — it  is  too  valuable  to  be  hid 
under  a  bushel. 
Steam  and  electricity  are  bringing  the  people  so  nearly  together 
commercially  and  socially ;  and  why  not  in  so  grave  a  matter  as 
unification  of  formulae  of  all  medicaments  ?  Let  us  all  take  a  hand 
and  push  the  matter.    It  must  come,  and  why  not  now? 
Allen  Shryock,  Ph.G. 
Philadelphia. 
REVIEWS  AND   BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
Handkommentar  zum  Arzneibuch  fur  das  Deutsche  Reich 
(Vierte  Ausgabe)  Bearbeitet  von  Dr.  Alfred  Schneider  und  Dr.  Paul 
Suss.    Gottingen,  Vandenhoeck  und  Ruprecht.  1902. 
This,  the  third  edition  of  this  exhaustive  work,  is  now  available  in 
its  completed  form.  Some  of  the  early  parts  of  the  book  have 
been  referred  to  in  this  Journal  (1902,  page  85).  The  complete 
work  is,  however,  worthy  of  a  special  notice. 
The  book  consists  of  1,140  pages,  large  octavo,  and  is  well  printed 
on  a  good  quality  of  paper. 
Following  a  short  preface,  we  find  an  introduction  of  63  pages 
containing  a  general  description  of  the  tests,  reagents  and  methods 
of  applying  them  to  the  drugs  and  chemicals  of  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
Succeeding  this,  we  have  1,017  pages  containing  the  text  and  com- 
ments on  the  Pharmacopoeia  proper.  The  arrangement  of  this 
matter  is  rather  interesting,  and  also  very  satisfactory,  in  that  it 
gives  a  clear  distinction  between  what  is  official,  or  belongs  to  the 
Pharmacopceial  description,  and  what  is  comment. 
To  prevent  any  possible  misunderstanding,  the  official  portion  is 
in  the  German  script,  similar  to  that  used  in  the  Pharmacopoeia 
