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specimens in illustration of the subject matter of the

paper.-A discussion followed in which Mr. Lennox Browne,Dr. C. J. Harrison, Dr. Woulfe Flanagan, Mr. J. Marsh, andMr. E. Vinrace took part.

Reviews and Notices of Books.The Ophthalmology (Liber de Oeu.lo) of Petrus Hispanus

(Peter of Lisbon), subsequently Pope John XXI. TheLatin text edited and translated into German by Dr.Latin text edited and translated into German by Dr.S. M. BERGER. Munich: J. F. Lehmann. 1899. Pp.135. Price 3s.

THE editor of this interesting little volume states that theoriginal only exists in manuscript and that in printing thetext and translation he has availed himself of opportunities ofcollating the copy in the Royal Bavarian Library in Munichwith those in the Florentine, Parisian, and Roman libraries.Petrus Hispanus was the son of a physician named Julianand acquiring a thorough knowledge of medicine prac-tised for some time as a physician with great success.

He afterwards entered holy orders, became Archbishopof Braga in Portugal, was made Cardinal in 1273,and on the death of Adrian V. he was elected to thePontifical dignity on Sept. 13th, 1276, as Joannes XX.,though in his epitaph at Viterbo he is called Joannes XXI.He died in 1277. He wrote several works on medicine. The

present one on ophthalmology is referred to by one of thefathers of French surgery, Guy de Chauliac, who wrote inthe early part of the fourteenth century. Petrus Hispanuscommences with sufficient lowliness by stating that he is thehumblest of physicians. He describes the eye as a round,noble, and brilliant organ composed of seven membranesand three humours and his description of these is comprisedin a very few lines. The physiology of vision is in accord-ance with the imperfect physical knowledge of the timeand vision is held to be something streaming from the eye.He gives a curious list of the diseases of the eye-viz.,inflammation, hydrophthalmus, hard swelling, itching mem-branes, leucoma, cancer, swelling, water, illusions of vision,bursting of the globe, stony tumour, adhesion of the lids,eversion of the lids, lagophthalmus, distichiasis, phtheiriasis,hordeolum, inversion of the lashes, eczema, herpes,glandular tumour, loss of eyebrows, golden yellow tumour,and chalazion. He asks, What is " obtalmia" ? and answersthat it is an inflammation with generation of heat of the

conjunctiva and gives its etymology as ob, against, andtalmon, eye ; hence something acting injuriously on thatorgan. The treatment recommended for " obtalmia" is rest,sleeping with the head elevated in a darkened room, refrain-ing from conversation, coitus, and exposure to smoke and

dust, abstinence from green vegetables, garlic and pepperydiet, quarrelling and disputing, and from roast and

baked food. When it is dependent on conditions of theblood venesection and the administration of Cassia fistula

and Prunus damascena internally are recommended, whilstdecoction of Trigonella fcenum graecum and violet leaves

should be applied topically. Local applications, he observes,should be frequently renewed, as he knew of a case

where a bandage was kept on for three days and a wound ofthe eye from a blow suppurated. Together with many drugsstill in use, such as mallow, valerian, aloes, myrrh, squills,and cumin, several curious remedies are ordered, as theblood of a goat, the lungs of the goat or ox, the blood of abat, woman’s milk, and oil in which lizards have been thriceboiled, and he vaunts as a special wonder-working secreta substance which will cause the physician, who can and willmake it, to be called not a physician but a prophet. This isa mixture of silver filings with those of copper, Iron, lead,steel and gold, and storax, the proportions of wulch, he

rather prudently adds, may be modified according to thefinances of the patient. The mixture of filings and storaxis to be placed for a day in the urine of a boy, on the secondday in warm white wine, on the third day in fennel

juice, on the fourth in white of egg, on the fifth in themilk of a woman brought to bed of a boy, on the sixth inred wine, on the seventh in the whites of seven eggs allof which are to be poured into a retort, the fluid distilled,and the distillate kept in a gold or silver cup. The pre-scription is to be kept secret, for its value is simplyinestimable. Elsewhere the use of the patient’s own urineand saliva and even of powdered fasces of the lizard isrecommended.The editing of the volume has been excellently accom-

plished. The upper half of each page is occupied with theoriginal manuscript, the lower half gives a German transla-tion with the Latin names of the plants specified, and there isa capital bibliography. The book will be read with interest

by all who have a taste for archseology.

Squire’s Companion to t7te British Pharmacopaeia. Seven-teenth edition. Revised by PETER WYATT SQUIRE,F.L.S., F.C.S. London: J. & A. Churchill. 1899. Price12s. 6d.

THE new edition of this well-known book has not been pro-duced with unseemly haste. It is nearly a year since thenew Pharmacopoeia was rendered accessible to all whowished to consult it prior to actual publication. The changes-in description, in processes, and in dosage were so numerous-and so important that the labour of incorporating them inthe Companion and of producing a commentary must havebeen considerable. The task of incorporation has been verythoroughly performed and we congratulate the author;

upon the fact. So far as we have been able to

test no statement of fact in the body of the Pharma-

copoeia has been omitted from the Companion. If the

running commentary is less forcible than usual this isto be reckoned to the credit of the Pharmacopoeia.Independently of his own experiments, the author has-included numerous references to criticisms and sugges--tions which have appeared in the: chemical and pharma-ceutical journals, and in some cases these criticisms-contradict each other. But it is none the less valuableto have them all recorded in one volume. As informer editions this volume contains much valuable in-

formation concerning remedies included in foreign phar-macopoeias, while the newest candidates for favour receiveadequate recognition. The intlusion of therapeutic refer-ences and of prescribing notes will prove serviceableto practitioners, since the best modes of prescribingand dispensing so often need a helping hand. A newsection on Therapeutic Agents of Bacteiial Origin hasbeen written by Dr. R. T. Hewlett and contains indicationsfor dosage, together with numerous references to recent

literature. The volume as a whole not only contains a vast.amount of interest for prescribers and dispensers, but italso supplies innumerable references to sources of detailedinformation. It is obviously the outcome of care and know-ledge, and consequently earns a position of authority.

The Blood How to Exanaine and Diagnose its Diseases. By,ALFRED C. COLES, M.D. Edin. With six Coloured Plates.London : J. & A. Churchill. 1898. Pp. 260.So much advance has been made in recent years in our

knowledge of the condition of the blood in disease that asmall work on the subject dealing with it in a manner

suitable for the clinician and not for the pathological histo-logist only is certain to be welcomed. Such a want Dr.Coles has attempted to supply,’ and all who read the book

842

must feel that he has admirably succeeded in his endeavoursThe methods of examining the blood are first detailed and thEprocesses described are easy. to follow and do not requirea very complicated set of apparatus.The general morphology of the blood is next considered.

Dr. Coles possesses the happy knack of expressing what hemeans in simple words and without the introduction of

unnecessarily numerous new scientific terms. Unfortu-

nately, the many investigators who have made a study ofthe corpuscular elements of the blood have not adopted anyuniform nomenclature and consequently a large number ofterms have found their way into medical literature all

designating the same thing. Thus the leucocytes mostcommonly met with in the blood have been variouslynamed multinucleated leucocytes, neutrophile cells, or

leucocytes with granules (Ehrlich) ; finely granularoxyphile or acidophile cells (Kanthack) ; the oxyphilecells (Gulland) ; microphagocytes (Metchnikoff); cells withfinely granular protoplasm (Max Schultze) ; and leucocytesof the second variety (Hayem). This confusion is to be

regretted, but Dr. Coles has collected all the synonyms and

placed them at the head of each section so that reference ismaterially facilitated. The part of the book, however,, w)::ich will be most thoroughly appreciated is that devoted tothe Pathology of the Blood. The various diseasescharacterised by changes in the blood are describedseriatim. This gives a much better idea of the value of anexamination of the blood than if the usual plan had beenadopted of mentioning the diseases in which certain cor-puscular changes are found under the description of thesechanges. Primary or Idiopathic Anaamia is first considered.Under this heading we find a number of important patho-logical conditions, such as progressive pernicious anasmia,(the differential diagnosis being especially well studied),leucocythasmia, lymphatic leuoocythsemia, Hodgkin’s disease,and splenic anasmia. This section is concluded with a

differential chart of the most important forms of anasmia.Next we find described Secondary or Symptomatic, Anaemia, such as that due to malignant disease and basmor-, r4agc.

Malarial Parasites naturally receive due consideration andthen follow a series of sections on the Blood in Acute

Diseases, such as pneumonia and typhoid fever. The chapteron the Condition of the Blood in Various General Diseases,,such as diabetes, gout, myxoedema, &c., also contains much

I

useful information.The illustrations are nearly all original and are beautifully

executed and reproduced. The whole work is very readable

and will doubtless receive the appreciation which it deserves.

LIBRARY TABLE.

.Notes on Essential Oils. By T. H. W. IDRIS, F.C.S.

’London and Bristol: Geo. Du Boistel and Co. Pp. 193.

1898.-The essential oils are complex compounds and theirchemistry is by no means clear at the present time.

The printed information, however, on the subject is

somewhat widely scattered through scientific literature

and Mr. Idris is entitled to a word of thanks for

placing in collective form all that is known of the com-

position, chemistry, and analysis of these very interestingbodies. It seems probable that as our knowledge ofthe composition and constitution of essential oils increaseswe shall be able to anticipate nature and to construct

them by a synthetic process. It will, indeed, be a

chemical triumph if we are able at length to constructoil of roses or of lavender from turpentine, yet the

proximate composition of these bodies is very similar.

This little book is an interesting and valuable con-

tribution on the subject and will prove a very handy source

. of reference. In an appendix a useful table of constants isgiven.

Physical Chemistry for Beginners. By Dr. C. M. VAl(

DEVENTER, with a Preface by J. H. VAN’T HoF. Trans-

lated by R. A. LEHFELDT, D.Sc. London : Edward Arnold.i Pp. 146. Price 2s. 6d.-The study of chemico-physics is!

equal in importance to the study of pure chemistry itself.Indeed, so far has our knowledge of the constitution andstructure of bodies been advanced that but a poor idea

of the science would be gained without understanding thephysical principles underlying this knowledge. The applica-tion of physical methods to the determination of molecularweight and the number of atoms in the molecule affordsevidence on this head. Again, by studying the nature ofthat interesting and peculiar phenomenon of solution furtherlight has been thrown on the architecture of molecules.This book, which is translated from the Dutch, fills a distinctgap. There have, of course, been published large volumeson the subject of physical chemistry-as, for instance, thoseof Ostwald and Victor Meyer-but these are much too

advanced for those who have simply skimmed throughmathematics and physics. At the same time the treatmentof this section of the subject can scarcely be adequately donein the ordinary chemical text-book. The book, in fact, doesnot assume that the reader is very deeply acquainted withcertain mathematical principles. And thus it has beenwritten to meet the needs of students of medicine and

pharmacy as well as those of chemists. It should well fill

this excellent educational purpose.

Testing Milk and its Prrod1wts. By E. H. FARRINGTONand F. W. WoLL, of the University of Wisconsin. Fourth

Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Madison, Wis. : MendozaBook Co. 1899. Pp. 236. Price$1.-This is a manual

intended for dairy students, creamery and cheese-factoryoperators, food chemists, and dairy-farmers. It deals most

exhaustively with the chemical analysis of milk, butter, andcheese. It omits any reference to the bacteriologicaldiagnosis of dairy products. A good deal of space is

devoted to praising the process known as the Babcock testfor milk and the frontispiece is the portrait of the inventorof this test which essentially depends upon the separation offat after treating the milk with certain reagents in a centri-fugal machine. The centrifugal process certainly facilitatesthe accurate estimation of the fat in milk. It can be con-

ducted by any ordinary individual without any specialanalytical knowledge. The book is sure to be in demand bythose engaged in the industry.The Baths of Mondarriz.-We have received an illustrated

uide to, and description of, the mineral waters of Mondariz.Fbis is a popular health resort situated in Galicia. Perhapshe best idea of its position will be given to our readers if weay that it is not very far from Santiago. The bathingestablishment, which seems very complete, is owned by twobrothers named Peinador and the waters are of the alkalinecarbonate type containing also a little iron. Good effectstre said to have been obtained in lithasmia and sundry;kin affections. Spain is an almost unknown land to the

najority of English people, but even apart from its wealth)f mineral water it is a very delightful country to visit.

rhose who love art, history, architecture, or scenery, to

lay nothing of courtesy and cheapness, will find their desire’ulfilled in Spain.

JOURNALS AND REVIEWS.

Edinburgh Medical Journal.-The opening article of theMarch number is on the Treatment of Ozoena, with specialreference to cupric electrolysis. It is written by Dr. P.McBride who states that Garrigou-Desarenes is said to haveintroduced the method in question. In 1895 the Society of