230  Book  Reviews.  {^t^wS*** 
On  page  78  it  would  be  advisable  to  suggest  the  use  of  the 
microscope  in  connection  with  the  examination  of  this  insoluble 
residue,  for  many  mineral  as  well  as  animal  and  vegetable  sub- 
stances can  be  positively  identified  only  by  this  means. 
No  provision  is  made  at  any  place  in  the  scheme  for  the  recog- 
nition of  peroxides  or  perborates,  which  would  be  overlooked  if 
the  plan  were  followed  literally  and  it  is  surprising  that  no  refer- 
ence is  made  to  the  separation  and  identification  of  paraphenylene 
diamine,  frequently  found  in  hair  dyes. 
Typographically,  the  book  shows  the  same  carelessness  or  haste 
in  preparation.  Subheadings  are  evidently  omitted  in  the  lists  of 
substances  on  pages  2  to  12,  although  found  in  later  lists.  There 
is  a  strange  omission  of  alkaloids  from  the  preliminary  lists  men- 
tioned above,  although  they  appear  in  their  proper  place  in  the 
detailed  scheme  beginning  on  page  36. 
On  page  22  "  test  "  is  used  for  "taste  "  and  on  page  88  "  ether  " 
is  used  for  "  aqueous  solution."  On  page  12  "fluorescence "  is 
twice  misspelled  although  correctly  spelled  on  the  following  page. 
The  use  of  the  reformed  spelling  by  which  the  final  "  e  "  of 
alkaloids  is  omitted  is  regrettable.  There  is  a  lack  of  uniformity 
also  in  this  matter,  as  apomorphine  is  spelled  both  with  and  without 
the  final  "  e "  on  pages  52  and  54,  and  aspidosamine,  page  56 
(which,  by  the  way,  appears  neither  in  the  preliminary  list  nor  in 
the  index)  carries  the  final  "  e." 
The  system  of  italicizing  all  substances  which  are  likely  to  be 
commonly  met  with  should  have  been  done  uniformly  throughout 
the  book  and  should  have  been  done  with  greater  care.  For  in- 
stance, on  page  20  the  items  picric  acid  and  pyrogallol  are  italicized 
while  in  the  same  list  the  substances  phenolphthalein,  resorcinol  and 
ichthyol,  all  of  which  are  found  with  equal  or  greater  frequency, 
are  not  so  emphasized. 
The  book  is  one  which  will  be  very  useful  to  such  analysts  as 
have  had  experience  in  this  line  of  work  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
future  editions  will  find  it  greatly  improved  as  it  is  pioneer  work 
along  a  line  which  deserves  greater  attention  than  it  has  heretofore 
had.  Dr.  Fuller  is  to  be  congratulated  upon  his  having  taken  the 
initiative  and  produced  a  work  which  will  largely  replace  the 
obsolete  DragendorfY  as  the  hand-book  of  the  analyst  of  medicines. 
C.  H.  La  Wall. 
