"Organic Materia Medica and

Pharmacognosy."

The fourth edition of this book, by Lucius E. Sayre, B.S., Ph.M., dean of the School of Pharmacy and professor of materia medica in the University of Kansas, has recently been brought out, and the new issue is claimed to be entirely in harmony with the last revision of the Pharmacopoeia.

Professor Sayre's present volume differs quite materially from previous editions. The families of plants yielding organic drugs have been rearranged, the order adopted being that which is followed by all botanists of note at the present time.

The entire volume contains 606 pages, with 302 illustrations, the majority of the latter being made from original drawings and photomicrographs. P. Blakiston's Son & Company, 1012 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa., are the publishers, and the price of the book is $4.50 net.

"How to Make Show Cards."

The purpose of this 130-page book is to give fundamental instruction in the art of show-card writing, and to make it possible for clerks and storekeepers to master and apply the principles of good lettering.

The appendix, which has been added to the second edition, gives alphabets and samples of work that may be produced by any one who has studied the book, as well as many useful hints and suggestions. A valuable feature is a list of snappy "catch phrases" for legends on window cards. Published by the Spatula. Company, Boston. Price, $1.00.

"Incompatibilities in Prescriptions."

This is the fourth edition of the well-known work by Edsel A. Ruddiman, professor of pharmacy and materia medica, Department of Pharmacy, Vanderbilt University, and presents to the busy prescriptionist in a convenient and condensed form the more common incompatibilities.

In the new edition the incompatibilities of certain remedies which have recently come into use are discussed and the table of solubilities has been enlarged and revised.

Another new feature is the addition at the end of each monograph in Part One of the numbers of prescriptions illustrating the incompatibilities mentioned in the monograph.

"Incompatibilities in Prescriptions" is published by John Wiley & Sons, 432 Fourth Avenue, New York City, at the net price of two dollars.

"The Art of Collecting."

This book, which is now in the third edition,

comprises a plain statement of the principles underlying the very fine art of getting the money. A number of valuable form letters. and form reports are included in the contents, and there are numerous suggestions which Cassell, is collection manager for Grinnell ought to prove valuable. The author, R. J. Brothers, Detroit, and a man who has had a wide experience in practical details. He therefore speaks on this broad subject with a degree of authority.

The volume is very strongly bound in cloth, contains 260 pages, and presents a most substantial appearance. The price is $2.00 postpaid. The publishers are the Ronald Press Company, 20 Vesey St., New York.

"The Genus Hippochaete in North America, North of Mexico."

Oliver Atkins Farwell, curator of the herbarium of Parke, Davis & Co., Detroit, is the author of this brochure, which has been reprinted in pamphlet form from Memoirs of the

New York Botanical Garden.

Mr. Farwell recently was appointed a member of the Committee on Botanical Nomenclature of the American Pharmaceutical Association, and contributions from his pen are always sure to prove interesting to the botanists of the country.

"What Makes a Retailer Prosper ?"

This series comprises a set of 14 little pamphlets written by Chas. A. Sweetland. The booklets are enclosed in a neat pasteboard box and the price of the set is $1.00, prepaid. The series is published by the Logan Printing House, Milwaukee and Logan Aves., Chicago.

The Preparation of Zinc Oxide.

W. O. L. asks: "How is zinc oxide prepared and how does Hubbuck's zinc oxide differ from the U. S. P. product?"

The official zinc oxide is prepared by the calcination of pure zinc carbonate; it is a fine amorphous, white, or yellowish-white powder, free from grit.

Commercial zinc oxide, which is largely used as a paint, is not made by the calcination of zinc carbonate, but by the roasting of crude metallic zinc in a current of air, whereby the resulting zinc oxide sublimes. Commercial zinc oxide is of a dead white tint, and is more

A cement that is said to be satisfactory for use on either genuine or artificial leather may be made as follows:

Mix 10 parts of bisulphide of carbon with one part of oil of turpentine and then add enough gutta-percha, cut into small pieces, to make a tough, thickly flowing liquid. An essential prerequisite to a thorough union of the parts to be cemented consists of freedom of the surfaces to be joined from grease. This may be insured by laying a cloth on the part to be joined and applying a hot iron for a time. The cement is then applied to both pieces, the surfaces brought in contact and pressure exerted till the joint is dry.

A glue that is occasionally used for joining leather is made in this manner:

Dilute four fluidounces of alcohol with 12 fluidounces of water and make into paste by adding two ounces of starch. Next dissolve 3/4 of an ounce of good glue in the same amount of water and then add an equal amount of turpentine. Finally, combine the glue mixture and the starch paste.

Unless the surfaces to be united are quite clean, a satisfactory joint will not be produced.

L. C. C. asks: "What books or journals give the names of all the new drugs on the market? Also what is the source of novocain?"

No publication can list all the new preparations on the market-additional ones come along too fast. There are, however, several books published which contain short descriptions of many of the products that have sprung into prominence during the last few years. "The Newer Remedies," compiled by Virgil Coblentz and published by The Apothecary Publishing Co., 145 High St., Boston, is one such book, and Merck's Index (Merck & Co., New York City) is another. Several of the drug journals also list additions to the materia medica from time to time and in this connec-. tion the American Druggist and the Practical Druggist are among the most reliable sources of information.

Novocain is a synthetic substance frequently used instead of cocaine.

Chemically Chemically

it is para-aminobenzoyldiethylaminoethanol

Camphor water, to make.....2 fluidounces. Mix. Directions: Use as spray in atomizer. Chloretone is soluble in water only to about the extent of one part in a thousand, and in the prescription, therefore, the Chloretone is present in considerable excess. The undissolved portion would, of course, present the appearance of a precipitate. The camphor water is also another source of trouble. A portion of the camphor is likely to be thrown out of solution and thus give rise to a precipitate.

Filtering the solution will remedy the difficulty.

The Founding of the Red Cross.

L. C. asks: "Who was the originator of Red Cross societies?"

The horrors of the Crimean and AustroItalian wars, the latter of which was graphically described by M. Jean Henri Dunant in his Souvenir de Solferino (1862), were the immediate cause of the establishment of such societies. In his book Dunant, who was a Swiss philanthropist, proposed that nurses should be trained and supplies collected in every country. An international congress followed at his native city of Geneva in 1864, and the delegates of the nations agreed upon a provisional programme. The convention has now been ratified by over forty nations, and in 1876, during the Servian war, the Turkish government informed the Powers that it had adopted the crescent for similar societies. The work of the Red Cross is neutral, and hence all connected with it are considered as non-combatants.

The American Red Cross was founded in 1881 by Miss Clara Barton, a Civil War nurse, who was its first president. The present active head is the President of the United

A Troublesome Tooth-paste.

A. J. C. writes: "I have encountered difficulty in compounding a tooth-paste containing calcium carbonate, powdered orris root, menthol, thymol, oil of wintergreen, oil of peppermint, powdered Castile soap, fluidextract of ipecac, formaldehyde, glycerin, and alcohol. When the substances are made into a paste blue specks are evident throughout the mixture. Do you think the discoloration is due to chemical change or what?"

We do not believe that a chemical change in the ingredients is responsible for the discoloration. A manufacturing chemist, to whom the query was referred, tells us that he is called on frequently to compound similar preparations, and that he has never met with any such trouble as you describe.

It would seem, therefore, that the difficulty lies in the ingredients used-one or more of them may be impure. We suggest that you either test each ingredient before using it, or that you buy drugs guaranteed as to purity. Another possible source of trouble may be the mixing device used in compounding. If the containers are not entirely clean and free from imperfections a condition might arise which would explain the discoloration.

tions are not bad for the purpose; they serve to remove surplus tissue effectively.

For ordinary use, however, such as the removal of cuticle from around the finer-nails, less complicated mixtures will be found to do the work. Alkalies are frequently employed, several of the preparations on the market be-* ing said to consist of weak solutions of caustic potash or soda. Trichloracetic acid, in proper potash or soda. dilution, may also be used.

Such preparations are liable to be more or less harmful in action and their continued use is not to be recommended. Manicure scissors will answer the purpose admirably, and the sale of a dollar pair means a larger profit than does the disposal of a twenty-five-cent bottle of "remover."

Fischer's Solution.

L. C. C. asks: "Will you please state the amounts of the ingredients in Fischer's solution and also tell whether or not the solution should be sterilized before using?"

According to an article entiled "A Method of Treatment of Mercuric Chloride Poisoning" which appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Fischer's solution consists of 10 grammes of sodium carbonate crystals and 15 grammes of sodium chloride in 1000 mils of distilled water. The solution should be sterilized by heat before use.

A Question of Arithmetic.

L. C. C. writes: "A doctor wishes to give 1/40 grain of strychnine hypodermically, but has at hand only tablets containing 1/30 grain. How should he proceed?"

Either divide a 1/30-grain tablet into four equal parts and use three of them, or dissolve the tablet in a definite volume of water and then reject one-fourth of the solution.

Mixing Castor Oil and Alcohol.

W. P. asks: "Can castor oil and alcohol be mixed?" Try it!

Briefer Replies.

W. C. S.: We are not familiar with the composition of the proprietary article you