PREFACE.

THIS work is essentially a handbook of Practical Chemistry. It is intended as a laboratory guide for medical and pharmaceutical students, and as an aid to the study of pharmaceutical chemistry by the pupils of medical practitioners, and chemists and druggists.

The aim of the author has been threefold:-to give concise data for a complete course of qualitative and quantitative analysis; to associate with these data simple experiments in imitation of all the chemical processes of the British Pharmacopoeia; and by means of short introductory, explanatory, and suggestive notes to direct attention to the principles and facts which the analytical and synthetical experiments are designed to illustrate. Practical toxicology and the chemical and microscopical characters of morbid urine, urinary deposits, and calculi are included, and questions on the whole work given in an Appendix.

Two leading features in the book will be found to be the separation of reactions having synthetical from those possessing analytical interest, and the addition of a large number of new reactions of the former class; the chemistry of the Pharmacopoeia is thus brought prominently into view, while the art of analysis is made clear and concise. Only by such plans can any practical knowledge of chemistry be gained by medical students in the short period devoted to this subject during the summer session. Pharmaceutical students also will thus economize time, and, by viewing a chemical reaction from more than one point of view, be better able to acquire a philosophical conception respecting it

MICAL FORCE AND THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CHEMI-

CAL PHILOSOPHY

MON METALLIC ELEMENTS, THEIR OFFICINAL PREPARA-

FIONS, AND TESTS

LYTICAL CHARTS, FOR ORDINARY METALS

1

co

3

19

26

133

OMMON ACIDULOUS RADICALS, OFFICINAL ACIDS, AND TESTS 171

than if performing experiments solely with an analytical or a
synthetical object. Even those just entering on pharmacy will,
by this mode of study, be able to attain a knowledge of chemistry
without undue deduction of time from their other duties, or too
lavish an expenditure in the purchase of apparatus.

The chemical notation of the work is in accordance with
modern theories. Equations illustrative of pharmacopoeial de-
compositions have a name attached to every formula; this has
been done for the convenience of those who have been accus-
tomed to the old method of notation. Chemical nomenclature

has been modernized to the extent of defining the alkaline and
earthy salts as those of potassium, sodium, ammonium, barium,
calcium, magnesium, and aluminium, instead of potash, soda,
ammonia, baryta, lime, magnesia, and alumina. The author
confidently believes that this change, extensively adopted by
scientific men, will be accepted and become popular with phar-
maceutical chemists, as it is a step in the direction of consis-
tency, simplicity, and truth. Hitherto the names of salts have
included metals and metallic oxides, as sulphate of copper and
sulphate of potash; henceforward they will include the names of
metals only, thus-sulphate of copper and sulphate of potassium.

It is hoped that the numerous etymological references scat-
tered through the following pages will be found useful. Words
in Greek have been rendered in English characters, letter for
letter.

The author is indebted to his friends, Joseph Ince, F.L.S., for
much assistance and many kind suggestions during the revision
of the proof-sheets, and Henry B. Brady, F.L.S., for the excellent
drawings from which the Plates have been engraved.

October 1867.

GENERAL PROPERTIES OF THE NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS . 3

COMMON ACIDULOUS RADICALS, OFFICINAL ACIDS, AND TESTS 171