In this admirable little work, Prof. Virchow gives a brief account of his early experience as Prosector in the dead-house of the Berlin Charity Hospital, and traces under his auspices the development of a systematic method of conducting post-mortem examinations. He also criticises, explains and illustrates the regulations which have been promulgated throughout Germany for the guidance of medical jurists in performing autopsies and drawing up reports. He also gives three interesting cases in which the post-mortem examinations were performed by himself, the order of sequence enjoined by the regulations being closely adhered to. They may be taken as examples of the way in which all post-mortem examinations for medico-legal purposes should be conducted. It is much to be wished that a method similar to the one which has received the high sanction of Prof. Virchow were adopted in this country. One hundred and thirty-eight pages, neatly bound in cloth, with a number of plates. Price $1.50. * * * * * THE SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT (1885) OF THE OHIO STATE PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION contains, besides the constitution and by-laws and history of the organization, a number of interesting articles. One of them, by S. J. Nicolay, M. D., of Hamilton, Ohio, is in reply to Query No. 1—“Do the Various Fluid Extracts of Hydrastis Canadensis, Made Without Alcohol, Contain all of the Active Principles of the Drug?” The writer says that, properly, this extract “should not contain alcohol, since the alcoholic extractive essentially contains resin, which, being an irritant to inflamed mucous surfaces, is a detriment in a large majority of cases to which it is otherwise applicable.” As to whether the various fluid extracts of this drug, made without alcohol, contain _all_ the active principles of the crude article, he concludes, after an examination of six specimens from different manufacturers, that “each specimen was found to contain portions of the two known alkaloids—berberine and hydrastine—in their varying proportions.” “As to whether these samples contained the alkaloids in as large quantities as the respective samples of the crude drug from which they were made, was not determined, but probably they did.” If this is true, the fluid extract, without alcohol, will be as effective as that made with alcohol, beside being quite miscible with water for topical application, injections, etc., without becoming turbid and depositing resin. Query 24—“_What_ is the Most Effective and Pleasant Disinfectant?”—is answered by L. Sollman of Canton in an essay in which he treats: 1. “As to what is that something which disinfectants are intended to counteract.” 2. “What articles are disinfectants, and what is the way in which they effect disinfection.” 3. “Which of them is practically useful, and which is the most practical way of using them under various conditions.”