POISON GAS 



regulations apply are placed in two 

 groups in what is known as the 

 poisons schedule. When a poison 

 in either group is sold, either whole- 

 sale or retail, the box, bottle, 

 vessel, wrapper, or cover in which 

 the poison is contained must be 

 distinctly labelled with the name 

 of the article, the word " poison," 

 and also the name and address 

 of the seller. 



No poison in part 1 of the sche- 

 dule may be sold to any person un- 

 known, to the seller, unless intro- 

 duced by some person known to 

 the seller, and upon every such sale 

 the seller must, before delivery, 

 make, or cause to be made, an entry 

 in a book kept for that purpose, 

 the date of the sale, name and 

 address of the purchaser, name and 

 quality o! the article sold, and the 

 purpose for which it is stated by 

 the purchaser to be required. To 

 this entry he must obtain the signa- 

 tures of the purchaser and the per- 

 son, if any, who introduced him. 

 Arsenic is the subject of additional 

 special regulations. The most 

 important poisons in part 1 of the 

 schedule are arsenic, atropine and 

 belladonna, corrosive sublimate, 

 cyanide of potassium, prussic acid, 

 nux vomica, strychnine, and vero- 

 nal ; in part 2, carbolic acid (except 

 preparations for use as sheep wash 

 or other purposes connected with 

 agriculture under certain regula 

 tions), chloroform, and oxalic acid. 

 See Food. 



Poison Gas. Term used to 

 designate the various noxious 

 chemicals employed to incapaci- 

 tate troops in warfare. The chemi- 

 cal may either be discharged as a 

 cloud, or filled into bombs or shell, 

 the contents, generally in liquid 

 form, being distributed by a small 

 charge of explosive. The first re- 

 corded use of poison gas in civilized 

 warfare was the use of chlorine by 

 the Germans in April, 1915. This 

 was discharged against the allied 

 trenches as a cloud of gas, being 

 stored under pressure hi cylinders 

 in the German trenches, the wind 

 carrying the cloud along. Phos- 

 gene was also employed by the 

 Germans in clouds, and as a shell 

 charge. It was used, too, by the 

 Allies for the latter purpose and in 

 trench howiteer bombs. Unlike 

 chlorine its action is not corrosive, 

 but a comparatively low concen- 

 tration results in speedy death 

 owing to its toxic properties. 

 When phosgene is used, the pro- 

 portion of fatal casualties is 

 generally high, as the majority of 

 men who are at all affected inhale 

 the small amount necessary to 

 cause death. Hydrocyanic, 01 

 prussic acid, has also been em- 

 ployed in shells and bombs. 



Another poison which the Ger- 

 mans used in shell to a very con- 

 siderable extent was trichloro- 

 methyl-chloroformate, Cl'COOC- 

 Cl s , also known as superpalite and 

 diphosgene. It has similar toxic- 

 ological properties to phosgene. 

 Another chemical with similar 

 properties employed in the same 

 way was chloromethylchloroform- 

 ate, C1-COOCH 2 -C1. 



In another section of organic che- 

 mistry poisons have been found for 

 this purpose, namely the arsenical 

 compounds of which diphenyl- 

 chloro-arsine has been most exten- 

 sively employed. It is a yellow, 

 faintly odorous oil, boiling at 333 

 C., and does not fume in air. It is 

 intensely poisonous, causes violent 

 sneezing, and has an irritant 

 action on the skin. Dichloro- 

 methyl-ether, (CH 2 C1) ? 0, has also 

 been used in shell, whilst allyl-iso- 

 thiocyanate (C S H 5 NCS), which also 

 possesses lachrymatory properties, 

 has been used, as well as phenylcar- 

 bylamine-chloride (C 6 H 8 NCC1 2 ), 

 a poisonous and lachrymatory 

 chemical with a most evil odour. 

 Various chemicals have been used 

 in hand grenades, including bro- 

 mine, which is almost identical in 



POITIERS 



It is a native of N. America, where 

 it is abundant in woods, thickets, 

 and hedgerows, often climbing to 

 considerable heights by means of 

 rootlets, after the manner of ivy. 

 The leaves are divided into three 

 oval or rhombic leaflets, paler and 

 downy beneath. It has minute, 

 whitish flowers in panicles, suc- 

 ceeded by small cream-coloured 

 berries. The whole plant is highly 

 poisonous, and many persons are 

 so susceptible to its influence that 

 even brushing the plant with the 

 dress may cause serious trouble. 

 Poison elder (Rh. vernix), which 

 has from 7 to 13 leaflets, is a 

 more erect shrub and also very 

 poisonous. See Sumac; consult 

 also Science from an Easy Chair, 

 First Series, E. Ray Lankester, 

 new ed. 1916. 



Poissy. Town of France. In the 

 dept. of Seine-et-Oise, it is 17 m. by 

 rly. N.W. of Paris. It stands on 

 the left bank of the Seine on the 

 edge of the forest of St. Germain. 

 The church of Notre Dame is a 

 fine example of the Transition 

 style. There are iron and steel 

 works. Here, in 1561, was held 

 the abortive conference between 

 the Roman Catholics and Pro- 



properties with chlorine and sul- testants known as the Colloquy of 



phur trioxide. 



Chlorosulphonic acid, S0 3 HC1, 

 was to a certain extent used in 

 smoke pots, where the poisonous 

 nature of the attack was apt to be 

 mistaken for a smoke screen. One 

 of the most successful compounds 

 used hi chemical warfare was 

 dichlorodiethyl sulphide, also called 

 mustard gas, while various com- 

 pounds specially employed to cause 

 weeping or sneezing were called 

 accordingly weeping and sneezing 

 gas. See Chemical Shell ; Gas ; Gas 

 Helmet ; Gas Shell ; Mustard Gas ; 

 Sneezing Gas ; Tear Shell ; consult 

 also The Riddle of the Rhine, 

 Victor Lefebure, 192!. 



Poison Ivy (Rhus toxicoden- 

 dron) OR POISON OAK. Bushy shrub 

 of the natural order Anacardiaceae. 



Poissy. Pop. 8,700. 



Poitiers. City of France. The 

 capital of the dept. of Vienne, it 

 stands on a hill near where the 

 rivers Clain and 

 Boivre unite. It 

 is 61 m. from 

 Tours. The city 

 is famous for its 

 historic buildings 

 and associations. 

 The former 



in- 

 clude the cathe- 

 dral of S. Pierre, 



Poitiers arms 



Poitiers, France. 



mainly Gothic, begun in the 12th 

 century, and containing architec- 

 tural and other features of interest. 

 S. John's Church is said to be the 

 oldest Christian building in France ; 

 it dates from the 4th century, when 

 it was built as a baptistery. S. 

 , Hilary's, which 

 holds the relics of 

 S. Hilary, is a 

 large building re- 

 stored in the 19th 

 century. Other 

 churches are S. 

 Radegonde's, 

 much visited by 

 pilgrims, and 

 Notre Dame la 

 Grande, both of 

 the llth and 12tli 

 centuries. The old 

 tower of S. Por- 

 ch a i r e was re- 

 stored in the 19th 

 century. There is a 

 modern town hall 



tbe cathedral of 



