A  in.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
November,  1898.  j 
Reviews. 
579 
F.R.S.E.,  F.I.C.,  F.C.S.,  etc.  Second  American  edition— illustrated.  Adapted 
from  the  eighth  British  edition.  Philadelphia :  P.  Blakiston,  Son  &  Co. 
1898.    8vo.    Pp.  xiii  and  228. 
The  first  American  edition  of  this  work  was  very  favorably  criticised  at 
length  in  the  October,  1891,  number  of  this  Journal.  The  present  edition 
has  been  made  to  correspond  to  the  last  revision  of  the  United  States  Pharma- 
copoeia. The  book  has  also  undergone  some  general  revision.  A  few  of  the 
less  important  matters  have  been  dismissed,  but,  by  the  addition  of  new  matter, 
the  book  has  been  somewhat  enlarged  over  the  first  edition.  The  important 
of  these  additions  are  in  the  sections  devoted  to  the  reactions  of  the  alkaloids, 
to  the  qualitative  detection  of  certain  organic  bodies  commonly  employed  in 
medicine,  to  the  analysis  of  fixed  oils,  fats,  waxes,  soap  and  essential  oils  ; 
hence,  the  scope  of  the  work  has  been  extended.  What  was  said  seven  years 
ago  for  the  first  edition  is  still  applicable  to  the  work,  viz  :  "  We  regard  the 
work  as  a  very  useful  one,  and  as  being  well  adapted  for  analytical  work  by 
students  under  supervision  of  an  experienced  teacher,  and  for  a  trustworthy 
guide  to  those  who  are  not  novices  in  chemical  analysis." 
J.  C.  P. 
Essentials  of  Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics  and  Prescription 
Writing,  arranged  in  the  form  of  Questions  and  Answers.  Prepared  espe- 
cially for  students  of  medicine,  by  Henry  Morris,  M.D.  Fifth  edition.  Price, 
$1  net.    W.  B.  Saunders.    Philadelphia.  1898. 
The  reviewer  of  this  little  book  believes  with  the  author  "  that  the  time  has 
come  in  scientific  medicine  when  an  attempt  at  classification,  however  imper- 
fect and  tentative,  should  be  made,  instead  of  giving  up  the  whole  subject  as 
hopeless  and  arranging  the  remedies  in  alphabetical  order  ;  and,  consequently, 
finds  in  this  compendium  much  to  commend  it  to  the  student  of  medicine,  pro- 
vided it  be  kept  in  its  proper  place.  While  not  written  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  pharmaceutical  student,  it  possesses  several  features  that  would  render  it 
useful  to  him  as  well.  These  features  are  the  prominence  given  the  official 
names  of  the  drugs  and  preparations  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  the  expression  of 
doses  in  the  metrical  system  of  weights  and  measures,  as  well  as  in  the  older 
apothecaries'  weight  and  wine  measure,  and  the  brief  but  lucid  description  of 
the  physiological  action  of  the  drugs  treated  of,  as  well  as  their  toxicological 
symptoms  and  antidotal  treatment,  this  last  being  especially  helpful  to  the 
pharmaceutical  student.  The  young  practitioner  may  also  find  in  its  pages 
many  practical  suggestions  of  value,  both  in  therapeutic  hints  and  prescription 
writing,  especially  as  regards  the  incompatibilities,  a  subject  that  so  frequently 
occasions  the  young  physician  so  much  annoyance.  The  adverse  criticism  the 
reviewer  feels  inclined  to  make  is  as  to  the  arrangement  of  the  subject-matter 
in  the  form  of  questions  and  answers,  but  as  this  criticism  would  apply  to  the 
whole  series  rather  than  to  this  book  in  particular,  it  does  not  militate  against 
what  has  been  said  in  its  commendation. 
J.  L.  D.  M. 
A  Text-Book  of  Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics  and  Pharmacology. 
By  George  Frank  Butler,  Ph.G.,  M.D.  Second  edition,  revised.  Philadel- 
phia :  W.  B.  Saunders,  925  Walnut  Street,  1898.  Cloth,  $4.00  ;  sheep,  or  half 
morocco,  $5.00,  net. 
