May 2, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



413 



poison gases is even of an earlier origin than 

 this article claims. 



The first recorded effort to overcome an 

 enemy by the generation of poisonous and 

 suffocating gases seems to have been in the 

 wars of the Athenians and Spartans (431-404 

 B.C.) when, besieging the cities of Platea and 

 Beliuni, the Spartans saturated wood with 

 pitch and sulphur and burned it under the 

 walls of these cities in the hope of choking 

 the defenders and rendering the assault less 

 difficult. Similar uses of poisonous gases are 

 recorded during the Middle Ages. In effect 

 they were like our modem stink balls, but 

 were projected by squirts or in bottles after 

 the manner of a hand grenade. The legend is 

 told of Prester John (about the eleventh 

 century), that he stuffed copper figures with 

 explosives and combustible materials which, 

 emitted from the mouths and nostrils of the 

 effigies, played great havoc. 



The idea referred to by the writer in the 

 Candid is from the pen of the English Lord 

 Dundonald, which appeared in the publication 

 entitled " The Panmure Papers." This is an 

 extremely dull record of an extremely dull 

 ■person, only rendered interesting by the one 

 piortion, concerned with the use of poison 

 gases, which, it is said, " should never have 

 been published at all." 



The great Admiral Lord Dundonald — perhaps 

 the ablest sea captain ever known, not even ex- 

 cluding Lord Nelson — was also a man of wide ob- 

 servation, and no mean chemist. He had been 

 struck in 1811 by the deadly character of the 

 fumes of sulphur in Sicily; and, when the Crimean 

 War was being waged, he communicated to the 

 English government, then presided over by Lord 

 Palmerston, a plan for the reduction of Sebastopol 

 by sulphur fumes. The plan was imparted to Lord 

 Panmure and Lord Palmerston, and the way in 

 which it was received is so illustrative of the 

 trickery and treachery of the politician that it is 

 worth while to quote Lord Palmerston 's private 

 communication upon it to Lord Panmure: 



LOED PALMERSTON TO LORD PANMURE 



"House of Commons, 7th August, 1855 

 "I agree with you that if Dundonald will go 

 out himself to superintend and direct the execu- 

 tion of his scheme, we ought to accept his offer 



and try his plan. If it succeeds, it wUl, as you 

 say, save a great number of English and French 

 lives; if it fails in his hands, we shall be exempt 

 from blame, and if we come in for a small share 

 of the ridicule, we can bear it, and the greater 

 part will fall on him. You had best, therefore, 

 make arrangement with him without delay, and 

 with as much secrecy as the nature of things will 

 admit of." 



Inasmuch as Lord Dundonald 's plans have al- 

 ready been deliberately published by the two per- 

 sons above named, there can be no harm in now re- 

 publishing them. They will be found in the first 

 volume of "The Panmure Papers" (pp. 340-342) 

 and are as follows: 



" (enclosure) 

 "brref preliminary observations 



' ' It was observed when viewing the Sulphur 

 KUns, in July, 1811, that the fumes which escaped 

 in the rude process of extracting the material, 

 though first elevated by heat, soon fell to the 

 ground, destroying all vegetation, and endanger- 

 ing animal life to a great distance, as it was as- 

 serted that an ordinance existed prohibiting per- 

 sons from sleeping within the distance of three 

 miles during the melting season. 



"An application of these facts was immediately 

 made to Military and Naval purposes, and after 

 mature consideration, a Memorial was presented 

 on the subject to His Eoyal Highness the Prince 

 Regent on the 12th of April, 1812, who was 

 graciously pleased to lay it before a Commission, 

 consisting of Lord Keith, Lord Exmouth and Gen- 

 eral and Colonel Congreve (afterwards Sir Wil- 

 liam), by whom a favorable report having been 

 given, His Royal Highness was pleased to order 

 that secrecy should be maintained by all parties. 

 "(Signed) Dundonald 



"7th August, 1855" 



' ' memorandum 



' ' Materials required for the expulsion of the 

 Russians from Sebastopol: Experimental trials 

 have shown that about five parts of coke effectu- 

 ally vaporize one part of sulphur. Mixtures for 

 land service, where weight is of importance, may, 

 however, probably be suggested by Professor 

 Faraday, as to operations on shore I have paid 

 little attention. Four or five hundred tons of sul- 

 phur and two thousand tons of coke would be 

 suflBcient. 



"Besides these materials, it would be necessary 

 to have, say, as much bituminous coal, and a couple 



