A-  03 .  J  our.  Pharro .  \ 
November,  1895.  / 
Reviews. 
587 
first  edition  of  this  work  was  translated  into  German,  in  the  face  of  the  fact 
that  there  were  already  a  large  number  of  works  on  the  same  subject  in  that 
language.  We  believe  the  second  edition  will  be  still  more  popular  than  the 
first  one,  and  that  it  will  fill  a  place  in  the  chemical  literature  of  the  United 
States  that  is  not  occupied  by  any  other  book. 
Handbook  of  West-American  Cone-Bearers.  By  J.  G.  Lemmon,  Temes- 
cal,  near  Oakland,  Cal.  Third  edition.  Published  and  for  sale  by  the  author, 
at  $1  per  volume. 
The  author  of  this  work  is  carrying  on  a  labor  of  love  for  the  subject  in 
which  he  is  engaged. 
His  book  is  all  the  more  interesting  on  that  account. 
Situated  in  a  locality  which  is  particularly  rich  in  cone-bearing  trees,  he  has, 
by  actual  observation,  been  able  to  classify  the  sixty  members  of  the  order,  and 
suggest  reasonable  and  appropriate  common  names  for  the  trees  which  are  now 
lpaded  with  a  confusion  of  terms,  or  else  are  neglected  altogether. 
The  preface  opens  with  the  statement  of  a  theory  for  the  occurrence  of  so 
many  species  of  cone-bearing  trees  on  the  Pacific  Coast;  an  appeal  is  then  made 
for  good  English  names.  The  author  does  not  propose  these  to  supplant  the 
Latin  names;  he  believes  the  public  are  not  yet  ready  for  the  latter,  and  that 
the  selection  and  application  of  suitable,  descriptive  and  distinguishing  names 
will  gradually  aid  in  popularizing  the  scientific  names. 
The  body  of  the  book  is  made  up  of  a  classification,  brief  description,  and 
in  part  illustration  of  the  cone-bearers. 
The  descriptions  are  concise  and  well  chosen;  the  following,  concerning  the 
great  sugar  pine,  Pinus  Lambertiana,  will  serve  to  illustrate  this: 
"  The  great  sugar  pine  is  the  accepted,  the  crowned  prince  of  the  pine 
family.  Not  only  by  virtue  of  its  unexcelled  dimensions  and  the  magnitude  of 
its  cones  is  it  regal,  but  it  is  a  most  kingly  monarch  in  its  majestic,  lofty  bear- 
ing, its  erect,  self-asserting  dignity,  and  its  bowed  head,  obedient  to  its  only 
masters — the  powers  above.  Only  the  supreme  emperor  of  the  whole  vegeta- 
ble world,  the  immense  Sequoia,  also  a  denizen  of  our  great  Sierra  forest,  and 
admitting  the  sugar  pine  to  fellowship,  excels  in  dimensions  ( every  way  but  in 
fruit)  this  noble,  dominant  tree  of  the  whole  Western  world." 
This  tree  is  of  interest  to  pharmacists  because  of  the  peculiar  manna-like 
secretion  which  exudes  scantily  from  the  injured  trees,  hence  the  name,  sugar 
pine. 
The  plate  illustrations — seventeen  in  number— illustrate  the  principal  charac- 
ters distinguishing  tribes,  genera  and  species.  They  have  mostly  been  taken 
from  water-color  paintings  by  Mrs.  Lemmon. 
The  book  is  very  readable,  and  should  be  in  the  possession  of  every  one  inter- 
ested in  the  products  of  our  Pacific  Coast. 
Kurzes  Handbuch  der  KohlenhydraTE.  Von  Dr.  B.  Tollens.  Zweiter 
Band  (enthaltend  die  Forschungsergebnisse  der  Tahre  188S-1895).  Breslau  : 
Vorlag  von  Eduard  Trewendt,  1895. 
The  short  handbook  of  the  carbohydrates,  by  Dr.  Tollens,  which  appeared 
in  1888,  was  a  reprint  in  book-form  of  the  original  article  which  he  had  con- 
tributed to  Ladenburg's    Havdzuditerbuch  der  Chemie,  and  was  instantly 
