DISCUSSION. 245 



either by nose or palate ; there are various species of tape worm 

 that cannot be found out by chemistry, but they can by 

 microscopical examination. 



Mr. W. A. Dixon wished to refer to the incident mentioned by 

 Mr. Wilkinson where men had been reported to be mad by the 

 policemen as the result of drinking certain wine. He (Mr. Dixon) 

 Avished to point out that the effect of fusel oil in those cases in 

 Avhich it had been administered had been to produce coma and not 

 madness. A man would be reported dead drunk but would not 

 be reported mad by the average policeman if the effect were due 

 to fusel oil. As for potted meats they never passed his palate. 



The Chairman said he was perfectly aware that many ingredients 

 were put in foods although with no intent to cause injury ; he was 

 very glad to find that the samples of beer examined by Mr. Hamlet 

 did not contain those injurious tilings which had been alleged. 

 He certainly thought from what he knew of the brewers here, 

 they would not put in deleterious things ; lie felt assured that it 

 was not the brewers but the people through whose hands it passed 

 afterwards who adulterated the beer. Chemical analysis was very 

 valuable, and Mr. Hamlet's investigations proved that fusel oil 

 was there, although not in large quantities ; but can it be produced 

 without fusel oil 1 (Mr. Hamlet : — Yes, it can). He was very 

 pleased, and had been instructed by what he had heard that night 

 and wished that more of their members would come forward with 

 papers. Before sitting down he would mention a fact that just 

 occurred to his mind through reference to hops, and it was this : — ■ 

 that nearly all plants twine from right to left, but the hop is an 

 exception ; it twines the reverse way and it was the only plant 

 he knew that did so. He would tender on behalf of the Society 

 a cordial vote of thanks to Mr. Hamlet for his paper. 



Mr. Hamlet in acknowledging the vote of thanks, said that he 

 considered' that any one who had an interest in the State as a 

 citizen, should do all he could to investigate such matters rightly. 

 He did not bring forward his paper to " rob a poor man of his 

 beer," as the popular saying goes, but he simply stated what he 

 found to be the fact — that fusel oil was contained in beer. He 

 concurred very much in what Mr. Dixon had stated about the 

 residues in British beers being higher than that in Sydney beer. 

 He did not think that adding salt had any great deleterious effect 

 nor did he think the amount of common salt that Mr. Dixon 

 referred to, had any great effect, having regard to the fact that 

 most people took a considerable quantity of salt in twenty-four 

 hours. It had been remarked that a man must take a large 

 quantity of beer before the fusel oil takes any effect. That might 

 be so, but it was no so much that, as the cumulative effect of 

 amylic alcohol. If he were going to be dosed with minute doses 



