Am.  Jonr.  Pharxu. 
April,  1895. 
Reviews. 
223 
for  collateral  reading.  In  Part  I  of  this  work  the  general  and  special  proper- 
ties of  matter,  and  the  laws  of  heat,  light  and  electricity  are  outlined  in  brief. 
Such  subjects  as  the  use  of  the  balance,  the  determinations  of  density,  the 
principles  of  the  microscope,  spectroscope  and  polariscope  are  introduced,  the 
limits  of  space  not  covering  topics  like  the  use  of  the  refractometer,  the  modern 
studies  of  solution,  etc.  In  a  general  treatise  upon  chemistry,  the  primary 
conceptions  of  physics  are  necessary  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the  nature  of 
chemical  action,  and  the  one  study  ought  to  be  a  companion  to  the  other. 
In  Part  II,  devoted  to  the  chemistry  of  the  non-metals,  directions  are  given 
for  very  simple  practical  exercises,  that  is  to  say,  easy  experiments,  showing 
the  character  of  the  elements  and  the  manner  of  chemical  reaction.  In  this 
part,  as  well  as  in  Part  III,  treating  of  the  metals,  the  operations  of  industiial 
chemistry  receive  a  good  share  of  attention.  Throughout  these  two  inorganic 
divisions  of  the  book,  and  also  in  the  division  of  organic  chemistry,  the  articles 
of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  are  announced  in  full  type,  and  are  described  from 
the  Pharmacopoeia,  as  they  are  reached  in  the  chemical  order  of  the  work. 
The  text  for  organic  chemistry,  in  Part  IV,  is  by  necessity  of  sp-ce  less 
ample  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  subject,  but  the  treatment  is  especially 
concise,  and  in  quite  full  accord  with  the  present  state  of  organic  research  in 
its  last  results.  For  all  simple  and  typical  compounds  the  molecular  structure 
is  fully  stated,  and  for  representative  types  certain  of  the  most  important 
proofs  of  structure  are  given.  The  synthetic  products  used  in  medicine  are 
described,  both  as  to  constitution  and  chemical  properties.  Certain  of  the  more 
important  series  of  organic  compounds  are  tabulated  with  their  physical  con- 
stants. The  carbohydrates  are  presented  in  the  classification  which  has  been 
adopted,  following  the  work  of  Emil  Fischer. 
But  statements  of  stereochemical  isomerism  seem  to  be  avoided,  except  in  a 
paragraph  of  the  introduction.  The  subject  of  essential  oils,  camphors  and 
resins  is  made  rich  in  recent  chemistry,  and  the  text  upon  the  alkaloids  is  very 
much  more  systematic  and  full  than  in  most  treatises  upon  organic  chemistry, 
as,  indeed,  it  might  well  be.  The  alkaloids  have  been  huddled  into  closing  page  s 
of  current  chemical  text-books  as  though  they  were  a  supernumerary  residue 
of  things  merely  dissected  out  of  plants  ;  and  this  for  years  after  the  results 
of  Hofmann  and  Ladenburg,  O.  Hesse  and  E.  Schmidt,  Claus  and  Liebermann, 
among  many,  have  been  on  record  in  literature  as  classic  as  any  in  the  science. 
Finally,  the  manufacturing  operations  related  to  organic  chemistry,  the  indus- 
tries of  fermentation,  dry  distillation,  etc.,  are  liberally  presented  in  a  way  that 
is  already  familiar  to  the  readers  of  the  volume  on  industrial  chemistry  issued 
by  one  of  the  authors  of  this  work  a  few  years  ago. 
The  compact  analytical  data  in  Part  V  include  brief  directions  and  tabulated 
schemes  for  qualitative  work,  selections  for  gravimetric  and  volumetric  use,  the 
latter  with  certain  assay  processes  from  the  pharmacopoeias.  The  work  is  in 
excellent  print,  upon  the  best  of  paper.  The  authors  may  be  congratulated 
upon  it.  A.  B.  Prescott. 
A  Standard  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language,  Volume  II.  I.  K. 
Funk,  D.D.,  Editor-in-chief;  F.  A.  March,  LLD.,  Consulting  Editor;  D.  S. 
Gregory,  D.D.,  Managing  Editor  ;  and  the  following  Associate  Editors  :  John 
Dennison  Chauiplin,  M.A.;  Ross. ter  Johnson,  Ph.D.;  Arthur  E.  Bostwiik, 
Ph.D.    New  York,  Toronto  and  Loudon.    Funk  &  Wagnalls  Company.  1895. 
