Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1886. 
Reviews,  etc. 
367 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES. 
American  Medicinal  Plants;  an  illustrated  and  descriptive  guide  to  American 
plants.  By  C.  F.  Millspaugh,  M.D.  New  York  and  Philadelphia :  Boericke 
&Tafel.   Fascicle  IY.   Price  §5.00. 
With  the  fascicle  now  before  us  two-thirds  of  the  work  has  been  completed. 
The  favorable  opinion  expressed  in  regard  to  the  portion  published  before, 
applies  also  to  the  present  part,  which,  among  its  thirty  plants,  comprises  six 
of  foreign  origin,  viz. :  Eanunculus  bulbosus,  Ailanthus  glandulosus,  Capsella 
Bursa-pastoris,  Rhamnus  cathartica,  Genista  tinctoria  and  Pastinaca  sativa. 
Among  the  more  important  inaccuracies  the  following  should  be  corrected:  Two 
alkaloids  have  been  isolated  from  Menispermum  canadense,  viz. :  berberine  and 
menispine ;  while  investigating  the  latter,  Mr.  H.  L.  Barber  compared  its  re- 
actions with  those  of  menispermine,  which  does  not  exist  in  the  drug  named, 
but  is  a  constituent  of  Cocculus  indicus.  The  alleged  great  resemblance  of 
Hambright's  myricinic  acid  (from  the  bark  of  Myrica  cerifera)  to  myristic  acid 
exists  in  the  name  only.  Dorstenia  brasiliensis  is  known  in  Brazil  as 
contraherva,  and,  in  some  localities,  also  as  caapeba,  which  name  is  also  used  to 
some  extent  for  Cissampelos  Pareira,  and,  more  generally,  for  Piper  umbel- 
latum.   
Contributions  from  the  Department  of  Pharmacy  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  No.  2. 
1886.    8vo,  pp.  52. 
We  shall  endeavor  to  present  some  of  the  essays  to  our  readers,  either  in 
extenso  or  in  abstract. 
Purdue  University.    School  of  Pharmacy.    Bulletin  No.  1.    1886.  Pp.22. 
These  papers  were  published  in  the  May  and  June  numbers  of  the  present 
volume.   
Purdue  University.    School  of  Agriculture.    Bulletin  No.  7 .    1886.  Pp.11. 
An  essay  on  commercial  fertilizers  and  notes  on  agricultural  chemistry,  by 
Prof.  Rob.  B.  Warder.   
Methods  and  Machinery  for  the  application  of  diffusion  to  the  extraction  of 
sugar  from  sugar  cane  and  sorghum,  and  for  the  use  of  lime,  and  carbonic  and 
sulphurous  acids  in  purifying  the  diffusion  juices.  By  Harvey  W.  Wiley, 
Chemist.   8vo,  pp.  85.    With  24  plates. 
Principles  and  Methods  of  Soil  Analysis.  By  Edgar  Richards,  Assistant  Chemist. 
8vo,  pp.  66. 
These  two  pamphlets  are  issued  by  the  Division  of  Chemistry  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  at  Washington.  
ISEau  de  Bois  et  les  cures  depuratives  au  XVIe  silcle.  Par  A.  Dubouchet.  Mont- 
pellier:  Boehm  et  Fils.   1886.   8vo,  pp.  42. 
The  water  (decoction)  of  wood  and  the  depurative  cures  of  the  Sixteenth 
Century. 
Reprint  from  the  Gazette  hebdomadaire  des  Sciences  medicales.  The  wood 
referred  to  is  Guaiacum.  The  interesting  essay  is  to  a  considerable  extent 
based  upon  the  syphilographic  researches  of  A.  Corradi,  professor  at  the 
University  of  Pavia. 
