Am-D?S*J£rrm"}     Reviews  and  Bibliographical  Notices.  621 
ufacture,  always  provided  that  such  differences  in  the  effects  be  not  due  to 
accidental  impurities. 
The  composition  and  activity  of  narcotic  and  other  extracts  obviously 
depend  primarily  upon  the  activity  of  the  part  of  the  plant  and  the  quality 
of  the  material  from  which  they  are  prepared  ;  but  likewise  upon  the  com- 
plete extraction  of  the  active  principles  ;  upon  the  amount  of  other  inert 
constituents  dissolved  by  the  menstruum  used  ;  and  upon  the  amount  of 
moisture  remaining  in  the  finished  preparation.  In  these  respects  there  is 
very  little  uniformity  in  the  processes  of  the  different  pharmacopoeias. 
This  want  of  uniformity  in  the  composition  of  many  medicinal  prepara- 
tions is  comprehensively  illustrated  in  the  second  part  of  the  work,  where, 
upon  72  pages,  a  large  number  of  preparations,  mostly  galenical,  as  directed 
by  eleven  national  pharmacopoeias,  have  been  arranged  in  compendious 
tabular  form,  indicating  the  process  of  manufacture,  menstruum,  propor- 
tional strength  and  ingredients. 
It  will  be  observed  from  the  foregoing  that  the  causes  for  the  variation  in 
the  activity  of  medicines  are  very  numerous,  and  that  a  great  many  inves- 
tigations will  be  necessary  to  overcome  the  difficulties  encountered.  It  was 
a  most  meritorious  undertaking  on  the  part  of  the  author,  to  collect  to- 
gether the  results  of  previous  researches  in  this  direction  in  such  a  shape, 
that  they  become  at  once  suggestive  of  the  line  in  which  further  inquiries 
are  to  be  made  ;  and  the  labors  of  the  translator  will  be  duly  appreciated 
by  those  who  are  better  conversant  with  German  than  with  the  Dutch 
idiom,  in  which  the  work  was  originally  published. 
The  great  desirability,  if  not  absolute  necessity  of  rendering  the  heroic 
preparations  of  the  different  pharmacopoeias  as  nearly  as  possible  uniform 
in  medicinal  activity,  is  again  illustrated  by  the  work  before  us.  Such  an 
aim  is,  assuredly,  not  unattainable,  although  the  progress  made  in  the  past 
with  such  an  end  in  view,  has  been  slower  than  might  have  been  expected, 
considering  the  importance  of  this  object  for  both  medicine  and  pharmacy. 
We  may  state  yet  that  in  the  careful  perusal  of  the  work  we  have  noticed 
only  one  antiquated  statement  which  has  been  overlooked  by  author  and 
translator,  namely,  the  asserted  presence  of  berberine  in  podophyllum; 
the  absence  of  this  alkaloid  from  the  rhizome  has  been  shown  by  several 
investigators  some  years  ago. 
Manual  of  Practical  Pharmaceutical  Assaying,  including  details  of  the  sim- 
plest and  best  methods  of  determining  the  strength  of  crude  drugs  and 
galenical  preparations.  Designed  especially  for  the  use  of  the  student 
and  of  the  practical  pharmacist.  Bv  A.  B.  Lvons,  A.M.,  M.D.  Detroit  : 
D.  0.  Haynes  &  Co.,  1886.    12mo,  pp^  151. 
This  work,  which  has  just  been  received,  is  of  such  a  nature  that  we  deem 
it  of  importance  to  consider  it  at  once,  inasmuch  as  it  has  a  bearing  in  the 
same  direction  as  the  work  by  Prof.  Plugge  and  Schaer,  noticed  above.  But, 
while  in  the  latter  the  extent  and  the  causes  of  the  variation  of  activity  o^ 
