292 
Current  Literature. 
[  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
L       June,  1915. 
copceias,  for  that  matter,  be  regarded  with  more  favor  by  physicians 
if  it  was  revised  in  like  manner?  Five  years  have  passed  since  the 
last  pharmacopceial  convention,  and  the  forthcoming  pharmacopoeia 
has  not  yet  come  forth. 
A  method  of  grouping  remedies  and  substances  of  more  or  less 
similarity  has  been  elaborated  upon  in  the  present  revision  and  is 
a  distinct  advantage.  This  method  enables  one  to  see  at  a  glance  the 
comparative  value  and  usefulness  of  the  various  therapeutic  agents  of 
which  this  book  consists.  J.  K.  T. 
CURRENT  LITERATURE. 
Agricultural  Alcohol. 
Edward  Kremers,  in  Bulletin  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture  No.  182,  presents  a  report  of  his  studies  on  the  manu- 
facture of  agricultural  alcohol  in  Germany.  In  this  study  all  phases 
of  the  subject  have  been  studied  by  the  author,  including  the  taxa- 
tion question,  the  distribution  of  the  finished  product,  and,  lastly, 
the  basic  question,  which  was  to  determine  the  most  profitable  article 
for  the  production  of  agricultural  alcohol.  The  potato  has  been 
found  to  be  the  most  profitable  for  several  reasons :  i.e.,  that  all  the 
ingredients  taken  from  the  soil  by  the  potato  are  returned  to  the  soil; 
the  product  left  after  the  starch  has  been  converted  into  alcohol  is 
valuable  as  a  food  for  cattle ;  other  crops  can  be  introduced  into  the 
rotation,  and,  lastly,  it  gives  the  farmer  a  chance  to  convert  the 
unstable  potato  crop  into  a  stable  article,  thereby  avoiding  an  uneces- 
sary  loss.  The  reports  of  the  personal  visits  to  several  agricultural 
distilleries,  which  occupy  about  one-half  of  the  pamphlet,  are  of 
very  great  importance  and  interest  because  the  author  has  made  a 
very  careful  study  of  the  work  as  carried  on  at  the  various  distilleries, 
bringing  forth  many  facts  which  will  be  of  importance  to  the 
investigators  on  this  subject.  A.  H. 
