86 
Book  Reviews. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    February,  1909. 
menstruum  is  superior  to  the  hydroglycerin  menstruum  for  making 
liquid  preparations  of  ergot. 
It  is  very  readily  seen  that  the  preparations  made  with  glycerin  and 
water  as  menstruum  do  not  produce  the  marked  physiological  actions 
that  are  produced  by  similar  preparations  using  alcohol  and  water 
as  menstruum,  hence  the  fluidglycerates  of  these  two  drugs  could 
hardly  be  considered  as  taking  the  place  of  their  fluidextracts. 
Nevertheless  their  fluidglycerates  may  possess  a  therapeutic  value 
which  can  be  better  proven  by  clinical  tests. 
570  East  133d  St.,  New  York  City. 
BOOK  REVIEWS. 
Handbuch  der  Pharmakognosie  von  A.  Tschirch.  Mit 
meheren  hundert  Abbildungen  im  Text  und  auf  Tafeln.  sowie  ver- 
schiedenen  Karten.  In  circa  30  Lieferungen  a  Mark  2. — oder  in  4 
Abteilungen  zum  Preise  von  je  ca.,  Mark  15.  Leipzig:  Chr.  Herm. 
Tauchnitz,  1908. 
To  those  of  us  who  have  been  using  for  years  Fliickiger's  Pharma- 
kognosie des  Pflanzenreiches  and  regarding  it  as  a  vade  mecum  and 
work  of  reference  that  we  could  not  be  without,  this  work  of 
Tschirch's  seems  like  the  realization  of  a  dream.  Tschirch  has  for 
years  been  laying'  the  foundation  for  not  only  the  execution  of  this 
work  but  for  its  reception  by  the  pharmaceutical  and  medical  pro- 
fessions. Pharmacognosy  is  a  distinct  branch  of  science.  While 
the  methods  used  in  this  science  are  similar  to  those  employed  in 
pure  botany  and  chemistry,  the  point  of  view  is  different.  Not 
only  are  the  latest  results  in  the  development  of  botanical  science 
and  certain  divisions  of  chemical  science  necessary  to  the  pharma- 
cognocist,  but  he  must  also  consider  the  geographical  distribution 
of  plants  and  their  history  as  well  as  the  latest  development  in  their 
cultivation,  and  finally  follow  the  drugs  derived  from  them  after  they 
are  collected,  cured,  sorted,  stored,  and  enter  commerce,  and  study 
their  constituents,  structure,  and  other  characters.  In  short  the 
problem  is  to  know  drugs  and  to  develop  the  most  intimate  knowl- 
edge concerning  them  so  that  they  and  their  preparations  may  be 
used  by  the  pharmacologist  and  physician  with  perfect  confidence 
and  assurance  as  to  their  identity  and  therapeutic  quality. 
