1895,] Proceedings of Scientific Societies. 603 
Mr. Davis also exhibited a large yellow gravel pebble, consisting of 
a mass of silicified coral (probably an Eridophylum) found by Mr. 
Trigg on the shore at Eltingville. 
March 9th, 1895.—Mr. Fred. F. Hunt read the following paper, 
illustrated by samples of the articles mentioned and tubes containing 
the tests made: 
Arsenic in Wall Paper and Hangings.—Having had occasion lately 
to test some wall papers and hangings for arsenic, it may interest our 
members to know of the results obtained. 
These tests were made on account of sickness, apparently a case of 
poisoning, which could not be traced to any cause. On finding that 
all the rooms in the house, except one, had arsenical wall paper, and 
also that some curtains and furniture covering carried arsenic, the doc- 
tor attributed the illness to that cause, and this view seems to have been 
borne out by the recovery of the patients on the removal of the ar- 
senical materials. 
The house is an old one, on this island, and some of the rooms had 
four papers on the walls. For testing, the papers were taken off to the 
plaster, and one test made of all the papers that were in one room to- 
gether, so I am unable to say which carried the arsenic. The test used 
was the “ Marsh test.” All the rooms in the house that were papered, 
except one, and also the hallways, carried arsenic in larger or smaller 
quantities, some tests requiring the gas to be passed for ten minutes 
before showing the arsenic mirror, while others showed ‘it after a few 
seconds, and one test gave the largest amount I have found in any wall 
t 
Tt is generally supposed that a paper must have green in it to carry 
arsenic, but that is not so, as I have found it in nearly all colors; one 
ceiling paper, which has a ground of very light yellow with a gilt pat- 
tern on it, carried notable quantities of arsenic, while other papers that 
were different shades of green, carried none; in fact, my experience 
has been that the browns, reds, yellows and grays are the most likely 
colors to carry arsenic. 
The cartridge papers do not carry arsenic, as far as my experience 
goes, even if there is a pattern printed on them. This may be due to 
its being a comparatively modern wall paper, and the manufacturers 
having found that of late years there has been more or less agitation on 
the subject of arsenic in wall papers, are more careful in the pigments 
they use. 
A set of red-brown colored chenille curtains in this same house gave 
avery marked mirror of arsenic, although they had been in use for 
