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Book  Reviews. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\  September,  1913. 
dental  schools,  three  pharmacy  schools,  thirteen  normal  schools  and 
seven  technical  schools  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  state  has  created  many  examining  boards  for  law,  medi- 
cine, pharmacy,  dentistry,  veterinary  candidates,  osteopathy, 
accountants,  and  boards  for  the  geological  and  topographic  sur- 
vey, vaccination,  health,  mining,  etc.,  and  all  of  them  might  well 
be  affiliated  with  the  college  and  university  council,  which  could 
designate  university  and  college  experts  to  carry  on  the  work. 
BOOK  REVIEWS. 
Elementary  Chemistry  with  special  Reference  to  the  Chem- 
istry of  Medicinal  Substances.  By  H.  M.  Gordin,  Professor  of 
Chemistry  in  the  Schools  of  Pharmacy  and  Dentistry  of  North- 
western University.  Vol.  I.  Inorganic  Chemistry.  Chicago: 
Medico-Dental  Publishing  Company.  $3.00. 
There  are  so  many  books  treating  of  the  principles  of  chem- 
istry, that  when  a  new  one  is  brought  upon  the  Editor's  table,  he 
is  very  apt  to  put  off  the  consideration  of  it  until  it  is  finally  buried 
out  of  sight.  A  book  by  Professor  Gordin  is  not  apt  to  be  thus 
treated,  as  he  is  well  known  as  a  painstaking  investigator  and  suc- 
cessful teacher.  We  are  very  glad  that  he  has  let  some  of  his 
researches  rest  for  the  moment  in  order  to  write  a  text-book  upon  a 
subject  which  he  could  illuminate  so  well. 
"  So  far  as  we  know,  this  book  is  the  only  one  in  which  every 
reaction  underlying  the  tests  of  purity  and  identity  of  medicinal 
chemicals,  particularly  those  of  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia 
and  National-  Formulary,  is  adequately  explained  and  illustrated  by 
chemical  equations.  To  mention  only  a  few  of  the  many  pharma- 
copceial  reactions  that  ought  to  be  understood  by  those  interested 
in  medicinal  chemicals  and  that  are  not  treated  in  the  usual  text- 
books, we  may  refer  to  the  reaction  of  hydrobromic  acid  with  copper 
sulfate  and  sulfuric  acid,  the  testing  of  zinc  bromide  for  chlorides, 
the  reaction  of  mercuric  iodide  with  milk  sugar,  the  reaction  of 
sodium  thiosulfate  with  ferric  chloride,  the  testing  of  alum  for  free 
sulfuric  acid,  and  the  reactions  involving  Gutzeit's  test.  Dobell's 
solution,  Clemens'  solution,  sodium  perborate,  collargol,  pyrozone, 
silver  organosole,  and  numerous  other  substances  handled  by  the 
pharmacist  and  physician  are  not  even  mentioned  in  books  that  are 
supposed  to  be  written  especially  for  the  healing  professions. 
