S28 
Reviews,  etc. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1879. 
aim,  as  indicated  on  the  title-page,  is  to  give  the  pronunciation  and  definition  of  the 
medical  terms  in  general  use.  This  intention  appears  to  be  well  carried  out  as  fa? 
as  medicine  and  surgery  are  concerned  ;  but  the  collateral  sciences  have  not  received 
the  same  attention.  We  are  well  aware  that  in  a  work  of  this  kind  it  is  exceedingly 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  draw  an  unerring  line  as  to  what  should  be  admitted 
and  discarded  5  but  when  words  like  elutriation,  decantation,  etc.,  are  admitted  we 
should  expect  a  like  liberality  accorded  to  percolation,  evaporation,  distillation,  etc.j 
and  if  cormus  is  (not  quite  accurately)  defined,  we  would  look  also  for  bulbus, 
radix,  rhizoma,  etc.  Still  in  such  matters  the  author  is  entitled  to  his  own  judgment 
as  to  what  should  be  admitted  of  those  words  which  are  in  general  use  in  the  collat- 
eral sciences. 
The  pronunciation  is  given  in  phonetic  letters,  the  English  mode  of  pronunciation 
having  been  adopted  ;  but  a  few  simple  rules  are  given  in  the  preface  for  ascertain- 
ing the  so-called  continental  pronunciation,  which  in  our  opinion  is  gradually  gain- 
ing ground  in  this  country.  In  the  accentuation  of  several  botanical  terms  we  have 
noticed  that  the  author  differs  from  Gray  and  some  other  American  authorities,  and 
in  most  cases  noticed  by  us  we  believe  that  there  are  good  reasons  for  holding  dif- 
ferent views  from  those  usually  entertained. 
The  definitions  are,  in  nearly  all  cases,  correct  and  sufficient,  though  necessarily 
very  brief.  In  certain  cases,  however,  they  may  very  properly  be  objected  to.  An 
organic  base  is  defined  as  an  organic  body  capable  of  uniting  with  acids  and  form- 
ing neutral  compounds,  resembling  salts  ;  admitting  this  as  correct,  though  not  com- 
pletely covering  the  subject,  santonin  cannot  certainly  be  called  a  very  weak  "  organic 
base."  Oleander  is  stated  to  Rhododendron  chrysanthum,  an  error  which  seems  to 
have  been  copied  from  Dunglison. 
The  typographical  errors,  as  far  as  noted,  are  readily  corrected. 
The  appendix  contains  tables  on  poisons  and  their  antidotes,  abbreviations  used  in 
prescriptions,  the  metric  system  of  weights  and  a  metric  scale  of  doses. 
We  regard  this  work  as  a  useful  and  convenient  one,  more  particularly  for  medi- 
cal and  pharmaceutical  students  ;  it  will  not  supersede  similar  larger  works,  but  it 
is  admirably  suited  for  hasty  and  frequent  reference. 
Eyesight  and  Honv  to  Care  For  It.  By  George  C.  Harlan,  M.D  ,  surgeon  to  the 
Wills'  Eye  Hospital.  Philadelphia:  Lindsay  &  Blackiston.  1879.  i6mo,  pp. 
139.    Cloth,  $0.50. 
This  is  one  of  the  American  Health  Primers.  After  a  brief  introduction,  the 
author  treats  of  the  anatomy  of  the  eye,  the  physiology  of  vision,  the  ophthalmo- 
scope, injuries  an\l  diseases  of  the  eye,  optical  defects,  spectacles,  practical  sugges- 
tions for  the  care  hi  the  eyes,  and  effects  of  school  life  upon  the  sight.  It  will  be 
observed  that  the  subject  is  thoroughly  discussed  in  its  various  bearings,  and  we  think 
that  no  intelligent  reader  will  fail  to  find  useful  hints  regarding  the  care  to  be 
bestowed  upon  his  eyes. 
The  following  pamphlets  have  been  received  ; 
A  general  System  of  Measurement  for  Urethral,  Uterine,  Rectal  and  other  Instruments  -y 
and  an  Adaptable  Metric  Gauge.    By  Charles  H.  Thomas,  M.D. 
Precautions  Requisite  in  the  Administration  of  Ergot,    By  J.  W.  Compton,  M.D. 
Report  on  Medical  Education  to  the  Illinois  State  Medical  Society.    By  E.  Ingals,  M.D. 
Notes  on  the  Estimation  of  Urea  and  on  the  Revision  of  the  United  States  Pharmaco- 
poeia in  1880.    By  Edward  R.  Squibb,  M.D. 
Dermatitis  Venenata  or  Rhus  Toxicodendron  and  its  Action.  By  Roswell  Park,. 
A.M  ,  M.D. 
Vegetarianism,  the  Radical  Cure  for  Intemperance.  By  Harriet  P.  Fowler.  New 
York  :  M.  L.  Holbrook  &  Co.  1879. 
