250 
Book  Reviews. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1909. 
type,  those  which  are  unofficial  in  small.  A  short  description  of 
the  substance  is  given  immediately  following  the  title  and  the  main 
headings  then  follow:  solubility,  medicinal  properties,  dose,  pre- 
scribing notes,  incompatibles,  official  preparations,  not  official,  anti- 
dotes, foreign  Pharmacopoeias,  descriptive  notes  and  tests. 
The  subject  of  solubility  has  been  a  particular  feature  of  the 
Companion  since  1864.  In  the  present  edition  the  subject  has 
received  the  closest  attention  and  innumerable  figures  have  been 
included.  Following  the  suggestion  conveyed  in  one  of  the  principal 
medical  journals,  in  those  instances  where  a  substance  is  very  soluble 
in  a  menstruum,  the  increase  in  volume  caused  by  its  solution  has 
been  given;  thus  ammonium  bromide,  1  in  1^  of  water  and  meas- 
ures 2 ;  ammonium  phosphate,  1  in  2  of  water  and  measures  2^2  ; 
potassium  iodide,  4  in  3  of  water  and  measures  4;  and  quinine 
bihydrochloride,  2  in  iy2  of  water  and  measures  3.  A  special  article 
on  the  subject  has  been  written  for  the  book  and  appears  on  pages 
1 1 36  and  1 137. 
The  doses  given  are  those  in  which  the  prescribed  medicament 
is  usually  given.  In  the  cases  of  potent  chemicals,  drugs,  or  prepa- 
rations, the  doses  are  compared  with  the  maximum  single  and  daily 
doses  of  one  or  other  of  the  more  important  foreign  Pharmacopoeias, 
or  where  such  is  not  available,  with  a  text-book  of  recognized  foreign 
standing,  such  as  Hager. 
The  paragraphs  on  foreign  Pharmacopoeias  have  been  very 
largely  extended,  and  the  strengths  of  all  the  more  important  prepa- 
rations of  seventeen  foreign  Pharmacopoeias  are  compared.  The 
French,  German,  Italian,  and  Spanish  names  are  given  under  all 
the  important  headings. 
Descriptive  notes  of  vegetable  drugs  have  been  specially  written 
for  the  book  by  Mr.  E.  Morell  Holmes,  who  is  generally  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  authorities  on  this  particular  subject.  They 
deal  with  the  principal  distinguishing  features  of  the  drugs,  their 
commercial  varieties,  and  probable  contaminations  and  sophisti- 
cations. 
The  chapter  on  Therapeutic  Agents  of  Microbial  Origin  has 
been  revised  and  partly  rewritten  by  Dr.  R.  Tanner  Hewlett,  and 
gives  the  medical  practitioner  a  clear  idea  of  modern  treatment  by 
antitoxins,  and  sera. 
A  chapter  on  Volumetric  Analysis  has  been  specially  written 
for  the  Companion,  giving  first  those  solutions  which  have  been 
