Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
Dec.  1875.  j 
Reviews^  etc. 
SIS 
same  conditions  as  the  "  third  alkaloid."    That  is,  the  crystallographic  evidence  seems  to  strengthen 
the  chemical  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  third  alkaloid  in  hydrastis. 
Agaia  thanking  you  for  your  attention  to  the  matter, 
I  am,  very  truly  yours,  A  LBERT  B.  PRESCOTT. 
More  Evidence  of  the  Presence  of  Lead  in  Muriatic  Acid. — The  paper 
by  Prof.  E.  Scheffer  published  in  our  last  number,  has  drawn  attention  to  an  impu- 
rity in  muriatic  acid  occasionally  noticed  before.  The  following  communication 
may  possibly  refer  to  an  acid  from  the  same  source  as  Prof.  Scheffer's  ;  but  it  shows 
that  muriatic  acid  containing  lead  is  at  present  found  in  several  localities  : 
Muscatine,  Iowa,  Nov.  19,  1875. 
Editor  of  the  Atiierican  Journal  0/  Pharjnacy  : 
A  few  days  ago  I  made  some  tinct.  ferri  chlorid.  from  a  solution  of  chloride  of  iron,  obtained  from  a 
manufacturing  house  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.  The  tincture,  after  a  short  lime,  began  to  deposit  small  crystals  in 
abundance.  The  article  in  the  November  number  of  the  "American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,"  by  Mr.  E. 
Scheffer,  at  once  aroused  my  suspicion  to  the  presence  of  lead  in  the  muriate  of  iron  solution.  The  cry.-.- 
tals,  after  separation  from  the  tincture  and  washing  with  cold  water,  were  dissolved  in  hot  water.  The 
solution  gave,  with  bichromate  of  potassium,  a  yellow  precipitate,  with  iodide  of  potassium,  a  bright  yellow 
precipitate.  A  quantity  of  the  crystals  mixed  with  carbonate  of  sodium,  and  treated  on  charcoal  with  the 
blow-pipe,  yielded  a  globule  of  lead.  Lead  undoubtedly  exists  to  a  great  extent  as  an  impurity  incon^- 
mercial  muriatic  acid  and  solutions  of  iron  made  therefrom,  and  they  should  be  submitted  to  a  careful 
examination  before  being  used  or  dispensed. 
Yours  truly,  FRED.  REPPERT. 
REVIEWS  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICES, 
Der  Kaffee  in  seinen  Beziehungen  %um  Leben.    Filr  Haus  und  Familie  geschildert. 
Von  Dr.  H.  Bohnke-Reich.  Leipzig:  Thiele  &  Freese.    1875.    i2vo,  pp.  65. 
Coffee  in  its  Relations  of  Life. 
Quite  an  interesting  and  entertaining  little  book,  which  gives  a  brief  history  of 
the  introduction  of  coffee  and  its  increased  use,  notes  on  the  cultivation  of  the 
coffee-plant  and  on  its  commercial  importance,  the  constituents  of  the  seed,  the 
preparation  of  the  beverage,  its  effects,  its  substitutions  and  adulterations,  and  the  vari- 
ous uses  to  which  it  is  put.  The  author  has  endeavored  to  describe,  in  as  small  a  space 
as  possible,  all  that  is  important  or  interesting  concerning  this  staple  article,  and  he  has 
done  it  in  a  manner  which  renders  the  pamphlet  interesting  to  all  cultivated  persons. 
It  is  embellished  with  several  wood-cuts. 
Practical  Hints  on  the  Selection  and  Use  of  the  Microscope intended  for  beginners.  By 
John  Phin,  Editor  of  "  The  Technologist."  New  York  :  Industrial  Publication 
Company.    1875.    i^mo,  pp.  131.    Price,  cloth,  75  cts. 
Many  branches  of  science  require  the  use  of  the  microscope,  botany  and  Materia 
Medica  not  less  than  many  others,  and  the  necessity  for  it  is  constantly  increasing. 
We  have  a  number  of  larger  works  on  this  instrument  and  its  uses,  most  of  which 
are  too  voluminous  for  the  beginner.  The  little  volume  before  us  appears  to  sup- 
ply this  want.  Plain  and  concise  in  its  language,  clear,  though  brief,  in  its  descrip- 
tions, practical  in  its  directions  and  moderate  in  price,  it  appears  to  us  to  fulfil  a 
want  which  is  more  particularly  felt  by  the  beginner,  for  whom  the  little  volume 
seems  to  be  specially  intended. 
