Am  Jour.  I'harni. ) 
May,  1883.  J 
Reviews,  etc. 
285 
made  upon  the  knowledge,  judgment,  and  practice  of  the  pharmacist.  The^ 
field  being  thus  very  materially  enlarged,  the  demands  upon  a  work  of  this 
kind  must  obviously  increase,  the  more  so  when  the  recent  publication  of 
the  new  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia,  with  its  greater  precision  in  the  determina- 
tion of  the  purity  of  chemicals  is  taken  into  consideration,  and  when  it  is 
remembered  that  also  a  new  German  Pharmacopoeia  has  made  its  appear- 
ance, which  is  not  unfrequently  consulted  in  this  country. 
For  these  reasons  it  was  to  be  expected  that  the  new  volume  would  be 
materially  larger,  but  an  increase  in  size  merely  is  of  itself  no  indication  of 
increased  value.  On  proceeding,  however,  to  the  closer  examination  of  the 
contents,  we  soon  begin  to  realize  that  the  work  has  not  only  been  enlarged^ 
but  likewise  improved  and  again  brought  up  to  the  present  state  of  chemical 
knowledge. 
The  general  plan  of  the  work  has  undergone  no  change,  the  first  part 
containing  as  heretofore,  a  description  of  the  operations  and  reagents, 
together  with  full  and  detailed  schemes  of  qualitative  and  volumetric 
analysis,  while  the  second  part  is  devoted  to  the  medicinal  chemicals,  their 
properties  and  tests.  Much  of  the  first  part  has  been  rewritten,  new  methods 
have  been  added,  as  well  as  a  large  number  of  woodcuts  in  illustration  of 
apparatus  and  operations,  and  a  chapter  on  alkaloids  has  been  appended, 
giving  their  general  characters,  more  particularly  their  behavior  to  the 
various  group  reagents,  and  a  method  for  the  systematic  separation  and  re- 
cognition of  the  important  alkaloids  and  several  allied  principles. 
Numerous  additions  of  chemical  compounds  have  been  made  to  the 
second  part,  and  these,  like  the  others,  are  considered  first  in  relation  to 
their  physical  and  chemical  properties,  including  the  characteristic  tests 
of  identity,  and  next  in  relation  to  the  accidental  impurities  or  intentional 
adulterations  that  are  likely  to  be  present,  the  operations  for  their  detection 
being  minutely  described.  References  to  the  analytical  examinations 
described  in  other  parts  of  the  work,  have  been  made  in  a  few  exceptional 
cases  only,  each  article  being  thus  rendered  complete  in  text  as  well  as 
illustrations.  In  connection  with  most  of  the  jDoisonous  chemicals,  the 
methods  are  also  given  for  their  separation ,  recognition  and  estimation  in 
forensic  investigation. 
An  addition  has  also  been  made  to  the  tables,  namely,  one  for  the  con- 
version of  metric  measures  of  capacity  into  United  States  fluid  measure, 
and  the  reverse. 
Viewed  in  regard  to  its  general  aims  as  well  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they 
have  been  carried  out,  the  work  will  be  found  as  complete  as  can  well  be  desired. 
The  descriptions  of  operations  are  full  without  being  redundant,  so  that  the 
tyro  can  easily  understand  them,  and  practice  the  processes  successfully ; 
at  the  same  time  the  details  are  not  given  with  such  minuteness  and  pro- 
lixity as  to  become  wearisome,  alike  to  the  adept  and  the  student.  The 
same  moderation  is  met  with  also  in  the  descriptions  and  examinations  of 
the  individual  compounds,  and  a  work  is  thus  presented,  well  adapted  as  a 
book  of  reference  for  practical  use,  and  calculated  to  impart  such  informa- 
tion as  in  each  particular  case  may  be  useful,  or  required  within  the  limit 
of  its  objects.  A  freshness  is  thus  preserved  for  the  book,  even  after  it  has 
been  frequently  used,  which  renders  it  the  more  valuable  by  long  acquaint- 
