428 
Reviews. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      August,  1895. 
This  book  belongs  to  a  series  of  useful  volumes,  issued  by  the  same  publish- 
ers during  the  past  few  years.  Unlike  its  predecessors,  however,  this  one 
appears  to  have  little  in  it  of  value  to  the  pharmacist.  It  purports  to  give  the 
composition,  therapeutic  indications,  mode  of  administration  and  dose  of  a 
number  of  pharmaceutical  specialties  that  have  but  little  excuse  for  their  exist- 
ence, except  that  they  have  been  so  persistently  brought  to  the  attention  of 
physicians,  and  their  presumed  superiority  over  official  preparations  so  conspicu- 
ously set  forth  that  the  medical  practitioner  has  been  induced  to  prescribe 
them. 
We  are  told,  in  the  opening  paragraph  of  the  preface,  that  "pharmaceutical 
specialties  are  being  more  and  more  prescribed  by  physicians  ;  the  practitioner 
desires  a  remedy  that  is  sure,  easy  to  order  without  complicated  formula,  of 
constant  composition,  and  not  exposed  to  the  difficulties  or  errors  of  the  official 
preparations."  In  other  words,  the  official  preparations  are  slurred,  and  the 
physician  is  told  in  plain  English  (or  rather  French),  that  since  he  is  too  intoler- 
ably lazy  and  ignorant  to  do  more  than  write  his  own  name,  all  the  rest  is  done 
for  him. 
The  composition  of  the  remedies  is  given  in  a  vague  sort  of  a  way,  that  precludes 
anyone  from  knowing  what  is  contained  in  them,  and  the  whole  savors  strongly 
of  some  American  price-lists,  containing  about  as  much  information,  except 
that  no  price  is  given.  There  is  one  exception  to  the  usual  beclouded  statement 
of  composition,  and  that  is  dermatol,  for  which  a  working  formula  is  given. 
Tabular  Review  of  Organography.  Prepared  for  the  use  of  the  classes 
in  botany  of  the  Department  of  Pharmacy,  University  of  Buffalo.  By  A.  Iy. 
Benedict. 
This  pamphlet,  of  twenty  pages,  has  been  prepared  for  use  in  connection  with 
Bastin's  College  Botany.  It  is  intended  to  be  used  by  the  student  in  his  field 
work;  and  alongside  of  the  numerous  headings,  blank  space  is  left  to  be  filled 
in  by  the  student. 
Etudes  des  Pi,antes  des  Colonies  Franchises.  Par  Henri  Bocquiilon- 
Limousin.    Paris.    A.  Hennuyer,  1895.    Pp.  94. 
The  author  has  previously  communicated  information  on  this  subject,  and 
the  present  pamphlet  is  devoted  to  the  colonial  plants  having  febrifuge  prop- 
erties. Each  plant  is  considered  in  the  following  systematic  order  :  Synonym, 
habitat,  part  employed,  botanical  characters,  anatomy,  chemical  composition, 
therapeutic  properties  and  dose.  Under  chemical  composition  the  results  of  the 
author's  own  investigations  are  usually  given.  The  whole  is  an  interesting  and 
valuable  contribution  to  economic  botany. 
VlERTELJAHRESSCHRIFT    UBER   DIE    FORTSCHRITTE    AUF    DEM  GEBIETE 
Chemie  der  Nahrungs-und  Genussmittel.  Zehnter  Jahrgang.  Erstes 
Heft.    Berlin,  1895.    Verlag  von  Julius  Springer. 
Transactions  of  the  Academy  of  Science  of  St.  Louis. — Vol.  VI,  No. 
18. — Proceedings  and  Index. 
Vol.  VII,  No.  1.  A  Study  of  the  Unionidce  of  Arkansas,  with  Incidental 
Reference  to  their  Distribution  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  By  R.  Ellsworth 
Call. 
Vol.  VII,  No.  2.  On  the  Electrical  Capacity  of  Bodies,  and  the  Energy  of 
an  Electrical  Discharge.    By  Francis  E.  Nipher. 
