Microscopic Comparison of Samples of 

 White Arsenic. 



BY EDWARD BARTOW. 



With Plates XLVl, XLVII and XLV'III. 



In a recent case of suspected poisoning in this state,' a bottle of 

 malted milk was brought to me for examination I found evidence 

 of the presence of arsenic by the Marsh test, and by the Reinsch 

 test; and even the simple test of heating the substance with a 

 piece of charcoal, in a glass tube closed at one end, gave a heavy 

 arsenic mirror. 



Considering the greasy nature of the material under examination, 

 I conceived the idea of separating the crystals of white arsenic, if 

 the arsenic should be present in that form, by means of ether. On 

 panning the malted milk with ether in a shallow porcelain dish, I 

 was enabled to separate quantities of the crystals in a pure state. 

 An attempt to do this with water failed. In fact water could not 

 be used on them until they were free from the fat. 



A few crystals of white arsenic were separated from a bottle of 

 whiskey found on the premises of the deceased. 



In following up a clue that seemed to point to the source from 

 which the poison might have been obtained, the county attorney 

 submitted to me a sample of white arsenic crystals obtained from 

 this source. He requested me to determine whether they were 

 like those found in the malted milk or in the whiskey. To my 

 knowledge, the only work of such a nature is that of Professor E. 

 S. Dana. ^ Professor Dana enters into an exhaustive account of 

 the methods of preparing white arsenic, and of the possibilities of 

 differences due to the variations of the conditions during the pro- 

 cess. He also made microscopical examinations of many samples 

 of commercial arsenic, and deduced the following conclusions: 

 "The study of a large number of independent samples of commer- 

 cial white arsenic confirms the conclusions based upon the obser- 

 vations as to the method of manufacture, and shows that wide 



1 state of \i ansas vs. Kunkel. 



3 Microscopic Examination of Samples of Commercial Arsenic, .Jersey City, 1S,S0. 



(255) KAN. UXIV. QDAR., VOL. IX, NO. i, OCT.. 1900, SERIES A. 



