Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1880. 
Reviews^  etc. 
589 
and  the  large  number  (117)  of  good  cuts  in  illustration  of  the  subjects  discussed, 
render  the  work  quite  acceptable  for  schools.  In  his  references  to  vegetables,  the 
author  has  in  some  cases  not  been  as  precise  as  might  be  desired.  When,  on  page 
14,  it  is  stated  that,  "as  a  general  rule,  vegetables  contain  more  solids  than  fluids," 
this  may  be  accepted,  perhaps,  for  the  large  majoritv  of  strictly  woody  plants,  but 
certainly  not  for  the  herbs,  many  of  which  are  known  to  yield  only  from  10  to  ao 
per  cent,  of  air-dry  material.  On  page  15,  it  is  said  that  the  food  of  vegetables  "is 
ready  for  use,  and  it  is  at  once  absorbed,''  while  the  food  of  animak  requires  to  be 
taken  into  the  stomach  and  digested  or  prepared  for  absorption.  On  page  49,  the 
food  of  plants  is  s-iid  to  be  mainly  water,  carbonic  acid,  ammonia,  etc.  These 
undoubtedly  have  to  undergo  "the  process  by  which  food  becomes  converted  to  the 
needs  of  the  system,"  i.  e.,  digestion,  though  in  plants  it  is  probably  more  correctly 
called  assimilation.  It  may  be  "very  simple,"  as  the  author  tells  us,  but  the  precise 
manner  in  which  the  plant  converts  inorganic  into  organic  compounds  is  still  unknown^ 
Hygienic  and  Sanatinje  Measures  for  Chronic  Catarrhal  Inflammation  of  the  Nose^ 
Throat  and  Ears.  Part  I.  By  Thos.  F.  Rumbold,  M.D.  t;t.  Louis:  Geo.  O. 
Rumbold  &  Co.     1880.  i2mo,  pp.  174.  ^ 
This  work  is  the  result  of  observations  extending  over  twenty  years,  and  showing 
that  the  successful  management  of  catarrhal  affections  depend  upon  the  faithful 
observance  of  the  laws  .of  health,  and  tliat  the  continued  observance  of  proper 
hygienic  rules  are  essential  for  the  maintenance  of  tieahh.  The  first  eleven  chap- 
ters on  Hygienic  Measures  discuss  the  protection  of  the  various  parts  of  the  body 
by  proper  clothing;  the  exposure  to  draughts,  night  air,  etc.;  the  temperature  and 
ventilation  of  the  bed  room;  diet  and  stimulants;  exercise  and  disposition  of  the 
mind.  Among  the  sanative  measures  which  follow,  are  discussed  the  cleansing  of 
the  nasal  and  pharyngo-nasal  passages  ;  the  removal  of  hardened  secretions  from  the 
nasal  passages  ;  the  cleansing  of  the  ears,  the  teeth  ;  bathing  and  the  application  of 
oil  to  the  body,  and  a  lengthy  chapter  is  devoted  to  tobacco  and  its  mental  and 
physical  effects,  showing  that  its  use  predisposes  to  catarrhal  diseases.  For  inunction 
the  author  formerly  used  bland  fixed  oils,  but  these  became  exceedingly  offensive  on 
the  body,  and  the  author  now  recommends  in  their  place  the  use  of  vaselin,  under 
which  name  he  evidently  includes  the  soft  paraffins,  sold  under  various  names.  If, 
as  is  stated  in  the  quotation  from  an  essay  by  Dr.  James  Y.  Simpson,  the  use  of  the 
oil  is  followed  by  absorption  and  assimilation,  it  is  evident  that  the  soft  paraffin^ 
owing  to  its  different  constitution,  must  act  in  a  different  manner,  though  it  may 
produce  the  same  result. 
The  book  is  written  in  such  a  plain  but  not  common-place  language,  and  with 
such  evident  sincerity,  that  we  heartily  recommend  it  to  intelligent  readers  gener- 
ally, believing  that  its  perusal  will  lead  to  the  adoption  of  measures  calculated  to- 
preuent  the  "catching  of  cold." 
Die  Pseudomorphosen  des  Mineralreichs.  Vierter  Nachtrag.  Von  Dr.  J.  Reinhard 
iJlum.  Heidelberg:  Carl  Winter's  Universitilts-Buchhandlung,  1879.  ^vo,. 
pp.  212. 
The  Pseudomorphs  of  the  Mineral  Kingdom.     Fourth  supplement. 
Thirty-six  years  ago  the  author  published  his  first  work  on  the  pseudomorphs,  in 
