The Qualitative Analysis of Medicinal Preparations.

The great diversity in the nature of medicinal substances renders it impossible to devise any routine scheme of analysis for medicines which is both brief and practical. This is particularly the case in a volume of this size. Then, too, the analysis of medicines is such a complex subject and one that requires so much patience and skill acquired from experience that no manual of directions, however complete, can make a competent analyst from an amateur. This work, however, makes no claim to attempt the impossible. The author's analytical scheme resembles the earlier methods of Dragendorff and Parsons for plant analysis, in that an endeavor is made to separate the organic medicines into groups by successive treatments with various solvents in acid and alkaline mediums. After the group separations are made the individual substances are identified by appropriate tests compiled from the literature, The book should prove useful as a