152 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [Jun 
separate quantities of the crystals ina pure state. An at- 
tempt 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 coun- 
ty 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 malt- 
SUSPECTED SAMPLE. x 75. 
ed milk or in the whiskey. To my knowledge, the only 
work of such a nature is that of Professor E. 8. Dana. © 
Professor Dana enters into an exhaustive account of the 
methods of preparing white arsenic, and of the possibili- 
ties of differences due to the variations of the conditions 
during the process. He also made microscopical examin- 
ations of many samples of commercial arsenic, and de- 
duced the following conclusions: ‘‘The study of a large 
number of independent samples of commercial white ar- 
senic confirms the conclusions based upon the observations 
