ipii] Charles 'A. Doremus 249 



In 1859 the Long Island College Hospital was founded, and 

 there, in 1861, Professor Doremus introduced laboratory instruc- 

 tion in chemistry. The other New York Colleges established their 

 laboratories much later. The writer organized that of the Medical 

 Department of the University of Buffalo in 1879, and that of the 

 American Veterinary College in New York in 1892, 



While the physician is interested in the action of drugs as 

 remedial agents, the toxicologist has to consider them also from 

 the Standpoint of criminology. The art of poisoning is, alas, 

 ancient and it often requires special skill to detect the cause of death 

 in cases of suspected homicide. Investigations of this kind have to 

 conform to the legal procedure of the land in which the case is tried. 

 We have trial by Jury, and oftentimes the antiquated coroner's 

 office (no longer extant in Massachusetts) is the first court before 

 which the inquiry is made. Under our System no defendant will 

 consent to having a chemist representing him witness the analysis, 

 and attest its findings as correct. The analyst for the State must 

 present the result of his investigation in piain and unbiased lan- 

 guage to the Jury, and must submit to a rigid cross-examination 

 at the hands of defendant's counsel. The evidence he has secured 

 must be convincing, and inspire the confidence not only of the jury 

 but also of the Community. When in 1858-9 an important case 

 of suspected murder by poison was brought to the attention of the 

 authorities, the district attorney requested Professor Doremus to 

 make the investigation. This he consented to do if radical changes 

 were made in the methods previously followed : A special labo- 

 ratory to be provided, blank tests to show that all chemicals and 

 porcelain, glass, or other vessels were free of taint, and other pre- 

 cautions, unnecessary to dilate on here, to be taken. These requests 

 were acceded to and the body of the woman, which had been buried 

 a year, was exhumed and the autopsy and analysis conducted in 

 the improved manner. On the finding of arsenic in the viscera, and 

 various tissues of the body, the soil surrounding the grave, the 

 coffin, its appurtenances, and other objects were analyzed with 

 negative results. 



To refute the contention of the defense that arsenic might be 

 found in any human body, the entire cadaver of a woman who had 



