\ 
286  Reviews,  etc.  { Am^^I?7h9arm 
want  of  care,  and  with  whose  characteristics  the  druggist,  pharmacist  and  manu- 
facturer seems  to  be  less  acquainted  than  with 
the  majority  of  drugs  of  foreign  origin. 
We  would  gladly  dwell  upon  some  of  the  articles 
which  have  particularly  attracted  our  attention, 
but  want  of  space  deters  us,  though  we  cannot 
leave  the  subject  without  referring  to  the  masterly 
V^C.  manner  in  which,  under  the  article  of  Cinchona. 
<^=^  .... 
^=S^      the  intricacies  of  quinology  are  unraveled  before 
Gland  and  hairs  of  Kamala.    the  reader,  at   once    lucid  and  comprehensive, 
embracing  the  results  of  the  latest  researches. 
Under  the  heading  Constituents,  a  critical  account  of  the  proximate  principles, 
wherever  such  is  recognized,  from  the  time  of  their  discovery  to  the  present  state  of 
our  knowledge,  is  given.  The  difficulties  arising  from  the  encounter  of  conflicting 
statements  of  facts,  the  differences  of  views  in  regard  to  the  composition  of  many 
of  these  compounds,  the  doubts  surrounding  their  identity  and  the  uncertainty  about 
the  role  assigned  them  as  the  active  agents,  upon  which  the  physiological  effects  of 
the  drug  depend,  rendered  this  task  a  most  formidable  one.  Any  one  consulting, 
say  the  article  Ergot,  or  the  chemical  constitution  of  cinchona  bark,  or  of  opium, 
will  not  fail  to  admit  that  the  task  has  been  indeed  successfully  accomplished  in  the 
light  of  the  rapid  strides  of  progress  made  in  organic  chemistry  during  the  last  ten 
years. 
Under  the  heading  Allied  Drugs,  a  number  of  substances  not  deemed  of  sufficient 
interest  to  require  separate  articles,  are  briefly  described  in  connection  with  those  of 
greater  importance,  to  which  they  are  allied  either  by  origin,  natural  affinities  or 
analogous  uses.  Under  adulterations,  an  accurate  description  is  given  of  the  sub- 
stances which  serve  as  adulterants  or  are  found  as  incidental  admixtures,  as,  for. 
example,  in  the  case  of  senna,  with  the  means  pointed  out  for  their  detection,  in  aid 
of  which,  in  some  cases,  figures  are  added. 
Considering  the  pharmaceutical  and  chemical  preparations,  we  find  the  processes 
for  those  officinal  in  the  United  States  and  British  Pharmacopoeias  literally  given  as 
laid  down  in  those  works,  besides  others  employed  in  different  methods  of  prepara- 
tion, with  critical  remarks,  particularly  valuable  to  those  who  find  it  a  duty  or  an 
economical  advantage  to  prepare  many  of  these  products  themselves.  The  needs 
of  the  working  pharmacist,  in  that  respect,  have  been  kept  constantly  in  view  by  the 
authors.  This  appears  evident  from  the  manner  in  which  the  explanation  of  the  pro- 
cesses and  the  directions  for  the  manipulations  involved  are  given  with  the  descripT 
tion  of  apparatus  and  utensils,  which  are  frequently  accompanied  by  illustrations. 
In  that  respect  our  attention  was  particularly  attracted  in  looking  over  the  articles, 
Extracta  and  Ext,  Fluida.  We  may  safely  assert  that  many,  after  finding  themselves 
so  clearly  and  concisely  instructed  in  the  preparation  of  the  products  belonging  to 
these  important  groups,  will  find  themselves  induced  to  bestow  their  time  and  care 
upon  them,  and  thus  secure  the  surest  guarantee  for  dispensing  articles  of  unexcep- 
tionable quality  and  the  desired  uniformity.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  to  find  room 
given  to  the  large  number  of  extra  officinal  preparations,  and  of  that  class  which  parade 
