MISCELLANEA. Explosion of Benzine.-A terrible accident occurred in the port of Havre on board the Glasgow steamer 'Athanasian.' That vessel was being unloaded in the afternoon when a cask of benzine fell from the crane back into the hold, and burst, the contents running out into the bottom of the steamer. The labourers shortly after left, but returned in the evening to work by candle-light, and four men had gone into the hold with lanterns, when a loud explosion took place, and the spirit becoming ignited, the flames rushed up the hatchway. One man only, named Elie, could be rescued, and he was shockingly burnt. The other three must have perished immediately. The flames were shortly after got under, and two firemen, attached to ropes, were let down into the hold to see that the fire was quite extinguished, and at the same time endeavour to recover the bodies; but at that moment a spark from a torch fell down the hatchway and a second explosion occurred. The two firemen were quickly drawn up, but, being severely burnt, were removed to the hospital with Elie. The last named is in a critical state, but the other two are believed to be out of danger. The flames were got under a second time, and the vessel, being of iron, is not greatly damaged. Deer Poisoned by Browsing on Yew.—It is stated that the Duke of Beaufort has lost nearly forty head of deer from their browsing on yew, the boughs of which were bent down within their reach by the snow. Poisoning by Yew-tree Berries.-An inquest has been held at Finchley on the body of Emily Arkhurst, aged three years, who died from eating yew-tree berries in Finchley Cemetery. The child was observed by her father to eat some of the berries from an Irish yew-tree in the cemetery, but he thought nothing of it. Shortly afterwards the child was taken with faintness, and the mother administered brandy and other restoratives, also a dose of castor oil, but a relapse having taken place medical aid was obtained; however death ensued. Mr. White, surgeon, deposed that a post-mortem examination plainly proved that death was caused by poison. From twenty to fifty of the berries were found, some of which had passed into the intestines. Verdict-"Death by accidental poisoning." Unalterable Nitrate of Silver Pills.-The following formulæ for preserving nitrate of silver when required in the form of pills are given in the Dublin Medical Press' of August 3, 1864. It is recommended that the pills should be kept in wooden boxes. Nitrate of Silver Pills with Silica.-B Argenti nitratis gr. iij.; Silicæ præcipitat. pur. gr. xxx.; Mucilag. gummi tragacanthi quantum minimum. Mix the nitrate of silver and the silica with due care, and make 20 pills. Nitrate of Silver Pills with Nitrate of Potash.-B Argenti nitratis gr. iij.; Nitratis potassæ gr. xxx.; Mucilag. gummi tragacanthi quantum minimum. Prepared like the preceding one. Accidental Poisoning by Phosphorus.-On Monday, August 15th, an inquest was held at Warner Place, Hackney Road, on the body of Thomas Hill, aged 4 years, who is said to have died from the effects of phosphorus, which had been placed between slices of bread-and-butter by the father, for the purpose of poisoning rats; and it was supposed that the child had taken the poisoned bread-and-butter from the shelf and eaten it, as he was found in great agony, the fumes of the phosphorus issuing from his mouth. Dr. Latham was called in, but was unable to give any relief, and the child died the next day. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death from phosphorus, but severely censured the parents of the child for their great carelessness. Why Bees Work in the Dark.-A lifetime might be spent in investigating the mysteries hidden in a beehive, and still half of the secrets would be undiscovered. The formation of the cell has long been a celebrated problem for the mathematician, whilst the changes which the honey undergoes offers at least an equal interest to the chemist. Every one knows what honey is like when fresh from the comb. It is a clear yellow syrup, without a trace of solid sugar in it. Upon standing, however, it gradually assumes a crystalline appearance, -it candies, as the saying is, and ultimately becomes a solid mass of sugar. It has been suspected that the change was due to a photographic action; that the same agent which alters the molecular arrangement of the iodide of silver on the excited collodion plate, and determines the formation of camphor and iodine crystals in a bottle, also causes the syrupy honey to assume a crystalline form. This, however, is the case. M. Scheibler* has enclosed honey in stoppered flasks, some of which he has kept in perfect darkness, whilst others have been exposed to the light. The invariable result has been that the sunned portion rapidly crystallizes, whilst that kept in the dark has remained perfectly liquid. We now see why bees are so careful to work in perfect darkness, and why they are so careful to obscure the glass windows which are sometimes placed in their hives. The existence of their young depends on the liquidity of the saccharine food presented to them, and if light were allowed access to this, the syrup would gradually acquire a more or less solid consistency; it would seal up the cells, and in all probability prove fatal to the inmates of the hive.-Quarterly Journal of Science, April, 1864. Substitutes for Gutta-Percha.-A new insulating material has been recently imported by Sir W. Holmes from Demarara, which bids fair to be a formidable rival to gutta-percha. It is the dried juice of the bullet tree (Sapota Muller), and is called Balata. It appears likely to be more valuable than india-rubber or gutta-percha by themselves, as it possesses much of the elasticity of the one and the ductility of the other, without the intractibility of india-rubber, or the brittleness and friability of guttpercha, whilst it requires a much higher temperature to melt or soften it. . . . There appears to be every probability that balata will become an important article of commerce, supplying the great want of the day-a good insulating medium for telegraphic purposes. Professor Wheatstone is now investigating its electrical and insulating preperties. Another substitute for gutta-percha, the juice of the Alstonia scholaris, a tree belonging to the natural order Apocynea, has been forwarded from Ceylon by Mr. Ondaatjie; it is stated to possess the same properties, and to be as workable as guttapercha. It readily softens when plunged in boiling water, is soluble in turpentine and chloroform, receives and retains impressions permanently, and is adapted for seals to documents. These specimens are sent in response to premiums offered by the Society of Arts for the discovery of a substitute for gutta-percha.--Ibid. A Large Dose of Quinine.-The following case is communicated to the 'Medical Times and Gazette,' in a letter from Dr. Taussey of Rome, to Dr. Clapton of St. Thomas's Hospital:-"Dr. Hayier, a military medical man, visited in barracks a soldier, suffering from a relapse of ague, and administered to him a small dose of sulphate of quinine. At the same time, he directed a man to fetch one ounce of the same remedy from the hospital, in order that he might have it in readiness for any emergency. The man received the bottle; but, supposing that it was ordered for the patient just mentioned, he took it to him. In the presence of their comrades, they put the whole into a cup, adding sufficient water to make a paste of it; and the patient, although he found the medicine uncommonly bitter, did not leave off until he had taken it all." The only inconvenience experienced was a complete deafness and a kind of stupor; and no antidote was administered. The ague disappeared; and the man left the hospital in a week, in the best state of health. Silkworms.-M. Onesti has found that wood-soot, if sprinkled over silkworms attacked with febrine, effects an almost certain cure, or, at all events, prolongs their lives until the cocoons are finished. The Minister of Agriculture has addressed a circular to the préfets of the sericultural departments of France, and has requested that a commission be formed to report on the value of M. Onesti's discovery. A very interesting letter from M. Guerin-Menneville, printed in a recent number of 'Les Mondes,' gives many particulars of the progress of sericulture in France. Among other things, it is mentioned that M. Simon, charged with a mission to China to report on the best breeds of worms, inter alia, has sent home a box of eggs vid Siberia, which have arrived safely, and are now being distributed, and are also being experimented on at the Imperial farm at Vincennes. Suicide by Cyanide of Potassium.-A coroner's inquest took place on Saturday, * Journ. de Pharm. et de Chimie, 1863. Oct. 8th, at No. 1, Richmond Terrace, Hackney, before Mr. Humphreys, on the body of Mr. William James Groves, aged 42 years. He was a merchant in the City, and his transactions were principally on the Corn Exchange and with New York. The evidence showed that he had sustained very severe losses in connection with America, which had preyed upon his mind in a most distressing manner. On Thursday last he came to his father's house earlier in the day than the hour at which his father and brother were usually there. He asked the servant if they were at home, and, ascertaining that they were not, he went into the dining-room, ordering that a glass and some water should be brought. He then closed the door, and the room was not entered till later, when his father returned. He was then discovered lying on the couch, as though asleep, but dead. On the table stood a bottle containing a quantity of cyanide of potassium, and the tumbler in which he had mixed a supply of the poison, and from which he had drunk as much as he was able before the poison took effect. On the table beside the glass were two letters, in which he stated that his mind was going, and that he could not bear his troubles any longer, as well as a kindly and anxious reference to his wife. The medical evidence established that the deceased had been poisoned with cyanide of potassium. The jury found "That the deceased committed suicide by poisoning himself with cyanide of potassium while in a state of unsound mind; and the jury desire to draw attention to the danger of permitting the indiscriminate sale of cyanide of potassium to unknown persons, and to suggest that in all cases the purpose to which so deadly a drug is to be applied should be carefully ascertained." Alleged Poisoning by Strychnine.-A trial has lately taken place before the Assize Court of Berne, in Switzerland, bearing some resemblance to the La Pommerais case in Paris. Charles Hermann Demme, doctor of medicine, practising at Berne, was one of the accused parties, and Sophia Elizabeth Trumpi, the widow of Gaspard Trümpi, of Glaris, banker, also of Berne, was charged with being the accomplice of Dr. Demine in the murder of her husband. On the night of the 15th of February last, Gaspard Trümpi died, and on the following day it was rumoured that he had died by his own hand, and in consequence of this and of another report that Trumpi had met with foul play, an inquest was ordered by the authorities, and Dr. Demme, as the family physician, was called upon for a report of the circumstances relating to Trümpi's death. In this report death was attributed to an apoplectic stroke. The Procureur-General of Berne ordered a post-mortem examination to be made by Dr. Charles Emmert and Dr. Kupper, both of Berne, and an analysis of the intestines, which was conducted by MM. Flüchiger and Schwalbach, resulted in the discovery of more than ten grains of strychnine. The notion of accidental death was therefore rejected, and the supposition of self-murder was not admitted. As it was known that Dr. Demme had been alone in the house of the deceased the night he died, and that a criminal intimacy had existed between him and Madame Trümpi, the authorities issued warrants for the apprehension of both parties. For the defence it was alleged, that although death had undoubtedly been caused by strychnine, the fact was concealed by Dr. Demme in order to spare the feelings of the family. The medical questions were again discussed before the College of Health, who came to the conclusion that the poisoning was not accidental, but that there were some grounds for believing in suicide. It was finally resolved that the case should be sent before the Assize Court, and left to the jury to pronounce on the guilt or innocence of the parties. This resulted in the acquittal of both, Dr. Demme having to pay half the costs of the trial. As if to darken a picture already black enough, it was reported that Dr. Demme and Mademoiselle Flora Trümpi, daughter of Gaspard Trümpi, had committed suicide by drowning in the Lake of Geneva; but this was without foundation, and it is now stated that Dr. Demme and Mademoiselle Trümpi committed suicide by taking poison at the Hôtel d'Angleterre, Genoa. Poisoning by Absorption.—A curious case of poisoning by absorption of tobacco through the skin was mentioned at a recent meeting of the Académie des Sciences by M. C). Barnard, who received the information from M. Namias. A smuggler had placed a quantity of unmanufactured tobacco next his skin, and the heat and perspiration produced by walking caused the absorption of the poisonous properties of the tobacco, the consequences of which were very serious. Alleged Poisoning by Morphia.-It is stated in the Registrar-General's Report that an infant, aged three weeks, was poisoned by a lozenge which contained the fortyeighth part of a grain of morphia." BOOKS RECEIVED. THE BOOK OF PERFUMES. BY EUGENE RIMMEL. With above 250 Illustrations by BOURDELIN, THOMAS, etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193. Piccadilly. To be had also of the Author, 96, Strand; 128, Regent Street; 24, Cornhill, London; 17, Boulevard des Italiens, Paris. 1865. A COMPANION TO THE WEATHER-GLASS, designed to record, numerically and graphically, the natural phenomena presented by the Barometer, Thermometers, Rain-Gauge, Clouds, Wind, etc.; with a Calendar for the year 1865. By a METEOROLOGICAL STUDENT. London: Bemrose and Sons, 21, Paternoster Row. Edinburgh: John Menzies. THE SPIRIT OF NURSING. BY HARRY JONES, M.A. London: Robert Hardwicke, Piccadilly. FOR AND AGAINST TOBACCO. BY BENJAMIN WARD RICHARDSON, M.A., M.D. London: John Churchill and Sons, New Burlington Street. ON FOOD AS A MEANS OF PREVENTION OF DISEASE. BY ERASMUS WILSON, F.R.S. London: John Churchill and Sons. THE IRRATIONALE OF SPEECH. By a MINUTE PHILOSOPHER. Reprinted from 'Fraser's Magazine.' London: Longman and Co. Dr. GUY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO SANITARY SCIENCE.-1. The Case of the Journeymen Bakers. Third Edition. London: Henry Renshaw. PHOTOGRAPHS (COLOURED FROM LIFE) OF THE DISEASES OF THE SKIN. By Alex. Balmanno Squire, M.B. Lond., etc. London: John Churchill and Sons. No. 1. The Photograph in the present Number is admirably executed, and is a most faithful delineation of the Disease it is intended to represent. TO CORRESPONDENTS. C. L. P. (Grantham).—Ammoniated Solution of Quinine. Vol. XIII. p. 344. M. Dees wishes for "a recipe for a wash to revive faded pencil writing." We fear it would be rather difficult to restore that which has been mechanically removed. O. P. S. (Atherton). We are unable to give the information. M. J. S. (Liverpool).-Apply by letter, giving name and address, to the Secretary, who will forward the necessary instructions. M. J. S. is thanked for his enclosure. Inquirer (Kirwaun).--(1) Lindley's 'School Botany,' price 5s. 6d. (2) Fownes's 'Manual of Chemistry,' price 12s. 6d. (3) We do not know the work you refer to. B. P. (Liverpool).-Fownes's 'Manual of Chemistry;' Bentley's 'Manual of Botany.' H. W. (Worcester). If our correspondent means Unguentum Hydrargyri Mitius, this was proposed by Mr. Donovan to be made by rubbing together lard and black oxide of mercury at the temperature of 350° Fahr., continuing the friction for twó hours. W. J. C. (Birmingham).—The Quinine in Tinctura Quiniæ Composita is said to be almost entirely dissolved when digested for seven days, but practically this is found not to be the case, and a small quantity of acid is generally added to render the solution complete. Codex." (Birmingham).—Yes. Several articles are postponed for want of space. Instructions from Members and Associates respecting the transmission of the Journal before the 25th of the month, to ELIAS BREMRIDGE, Secretary, 17, Bloomsbury Square, W.C. Advertisements (not later than the 23rd) to Messrs. CHURCHILL, New Burlington Street. Other communications to the Editors, 17, Bloomsbury Square. THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL. SECOND SERIES. VOL. VI.-No. X.-APRIL 1st, 1865. THE PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY AND CHEMISTS AND Two Bills for regulating the qualifications of Chemists and Druggists are now fairly launched in the House of Commons, and the present Session will probably witness the settlement of the question which has so long agitated the drug trade. Throughout the discussion which has been carried on we have always carefully endeavoured to avoid any angry expressions in this Journal, and have even abstained from contradicting many erroneous assertions which have been made regarding the Pharmaceutical Society, until members of that Society charged us almost with a dereliction of duty in neglecting to uphold its honour. We must confess that we have thought, and still think, that honour too well established to be really imperilled by the attacks to which it has been subjected; and we have thought, and still think, that those attacks, although put forth officially as coming from a Society which claims to represent a majority of our brothers in the trade, did not express the real feeling of those gentlemen. Now this suggests to us one of the first and greatest misstatements, viz. that the Pharmaceutical Society does not represent the drug trade, either in feeling or by its numerical strength. We were, perhaps, content to think our proportion small when it was the fashion to speak of the Chemists and Druggists as amounting to 35,000, but when the census returns of 1861 came forth to the public we found, by a fair computation, that our members, men really and truly in business on their own account, amounted to one-third of the Chemists and Druggists in business in England and Wales. The register of these men, with their addresses, is annually published; they must be members at the time of publishing, not gentlemen who may have been enrolled at some previous time and have been satisfied with one year's connection with the Society, and we should like to know whether any other association can produce such a register of actual subscribing members who are de facto Chemists and Druggists in business on their own account? The agents of the "United Society" seem to have slightly modified the reading of, "He who is not with me is against me;" preferring, as men often do, to apply great truths to their neighbours rather than themselves, and translating the passage," He who is not with you is with me." We dissent from such a conclusion, and have ample evidence on our side in the recent memorials, which were sent to the Council, expressing approval of the Bill now introduced by Sir Fitzroy Kelly. But does the Pharmaceutical Society represent the Chemists and Druggists in feeling? All sorts of flattering terms were used regarding its members two years ago. They were called the "élite of the trade." Sometimes we hear of VOL. VI. 2 N |