October, 1881. 
THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST. 
45 
surmised before, may be a hybrid, perhaps arisen from T. 
antennifera and T. earned. The wide severance, colour, 
shape and papillar roughness of the column-appendages 
mark T. Macmillani at once as different in all its stages from 
T. antennifera: , which at the Loddon is also its companion. 
In T. earned the column overreaches the anther, the middle 
space of the summit being nearly at a level with the very short 
lateral appendages. T. APXibbinii is in flower towards the 
end of September and in the beginning of October. 
Incidentally it may be here observed that Mr. Benthamhas, 
in one of the very last of his glorious researches, reduced the 
genus JRampMdia , of which one species at least occurs in 
Queensland, to the older Etaeria or Hetaeria. 
Mr. Samuel H. Heald is about to commence business at 
Numurkah. 
Mr. Edward Thorby Noakes, who was formerly assistant to 
Messrs. Ford and Co., has purchased the business formerly 
carried on by Mr Geo. F. Chamberlain, at Rochester. 
Mr, Geo. Wm. Francis, son of Mr. II. Francis, has gone to 
England to finish his pharmaceutical education. Mr. Francis 
accompanied his son to Adelaide to see him off. 
Mr. 0. V. Morgan was entertained at dinner by Mr. W. 
Johnson, at his residence, Windsor, prior to his departure from 
Victoria. Amongst the gentlemen present were Mr. Bosisto, 
president of the Pharmacy Board ; Mr. Wm. Bowen, president 
of the Pharmaceutical Society ; Mr. C. R. Blackett, Mr. R. 
Langton, &c. Mr. Morgan spoke very warmly in praise of the 
hospitality shown to visitors in Melbourne, which he con- 
sidered the most metropolitan city he had seen since leaving 
London. 
Mr. Wm. Bowen, Toorak, has been appointed to the com- 
mission of the peace. 
Dr. Cecil Jackson was sued in the Maryborough County 
Court for medicine supplied by Mr. Ogle, chemist, to lodges of 
which he was medical attendant. Ogle deposed to a statement 
by Jackson : — “ I have taken all the lodges, and I will take 
jolly good care I will not prescribe anything expensive for the 
beggars.” Mr. Samuel suggested — “ He would give them salts 
and the scourings of kerosene tins instead of quinine.” 
POISONING CASES. 
A SAD case of poisoning took place on the 10th inst., by 
which a little girl named Julia Crocker, aged four, living as 
the adopted daughter of May Anderson, of Sturt-street, Balla- 
rat, lost her life. It appears that the deceased found a bottle 
containing some caustic potash at the head of an old stair- 
case, the bottle, it is said, being placed there by Richard 
Waller, the previous occupant of the house, who found it 
about the premises. The deceased, with the usual curiosity of 
a child, drank some of it, and shortly afterwards Mrs. Ander- 
son noticed the child lying on the floor. She immediately 
picked her up and took her to the hospital, where Dr. Owen at 
once pronounced it to be a hopeless case. Antidotes were, 
however, administered, but without success, and the little 
sufferer expired in the greatest agony. From the evidence 
adduced at the magisterial inquiry held touching the death of 
the child Julia Crocker, it is palpable that tradesmen and 
others should exercise great care so that bottles and other 
vessels containing poisonous substances should not be left 
carelessly about. It was apparent that the poor child acci- 
dentally met her death through drinking poison she had found 
in a bottle which, presumably, had previously been bestowed 
there. The evidence also disclosed that a playmate of the 
deceased, nearly three years old, had partaken of the contents 
of the bottle to a slight degree, but not dangerously, as it 
appears she did not like the taste, and spit the substance out. 
A witness stated that when she heard the deceased screaming 
after the dose, and perceiving her foaming at the mouth, with 
' her tongue perfectly black, she thought the poor little thing 
had drunk some ink, but not observing any other bottle about 
except the one which caused the mischief she took it up and 
applied it to her lips. She stated the mixture was of 
“saltish flavour,” upon which a premonition came upon her 
that it was poison, and immediately snatching up the child 
she carried it to the hospital. If the mixture had been a rank 
poison instead of an irritant poison, it will at once be seen 
that three lives would have been sacrificed. It is well known 
that if a chemist or druggist neglects to label bottles contain- 
ing deleterious substances with the word “poison” the law 
takes cognisance of the fact, and the offender is prosecuted. 
The question naturally arises, why are not other trades or 
professions using poisonous substances subjected to the same 
penalties for not labelling the bottles containing them ? It can 
be plainly seen that poison, when left about, conduces to more 
danger than when securely kept on a druggist’s shelf. 
Another fatal case of poisoning occurred on the 14th instant, 
the victim being a little boy named O’Connor, son of Mr. 
O’Connor, produce merchant, of Doveton-street North. It 
seems that about six years ago Mr. O’Connor bought some 
strychnine, and hid it, as he thought, safely in the stable. 
About two years ago, when another case of poisoning occurred, 
he looked for it to put it away in a safer place, but it was not 
to be found. He gave no further thought to the matter, think- 
ing that it had been got rid of. On Friday, however, the little 
fellow was playing about in the stables, when his mother came 
in and told him that she wanted him to go out. He said that 
he was sick, and could not walk, and that he had eaten some- 
thing out of a paper he had found. His mother looked at the 
paper, and recognised it as the one that had contained the 
strychnine. She immediately sent for Dr. Usher, who set out 
without delay, but by the time he arrived the child was dead. 
He had expired in very little pain. 
GLYCERINE. 
Notwithstanding- the low price which now prevails for almost 
every description of raw produce and manufactured goods, there 
are a few articles which form notable exceptions. Perhaps one 
of the most remarkable of these is refined glycerine, which 
within the last two year§ has advanced from about £30 to £130 
per ton avoirdupois for 30° B. This enormous advance is 
due partly to increased consumption, diminished production, 
and the influence of speculation working on a market devoid 
of stocks. In view of the present position of the article, and 
the prospect of a continuance of high prices for a considerable 
time to come, the attention of soapmakers is now being turned 
to the utilisation of their waste “ leys, ” and various new pro- 
cesses for recovering the glycerine contained in these liquors 
have lately been tried with more or less successful results. 
Apart from minor impurities, waste soap “leys” are generally 
found to contain glycerine, carbonate of soda or caustic soda, 
chloride of sodium, gelatin, and albumen. One of the pro- 
cesses for recovering the glycerine which promise to be the 
most economical and the most successful begins with concen- 
trating the liquor until the salts contained therein begin to 
crystallise. The liquid is then cooled and filtered to rid it of 
gelatin and albumen. It is afterwards made to absorb carbonic 
acid, which precipitates bicarbonate of soda, and first is 
separated from the liquor in the usual way. After undergoing 
this process the liquor is then made to absorb gaseous hydro- 
chloric acid until what remains of carbonate of soda has been 
converted into chloride ; and further, until all, or almost all, 
the chloride of sodium has been precipitated and separated 
from the liquor in the usual manner. Arrived at this stage, 
the liquor contains water, glycerine, and hydrochloric acid. 
The acid is then evaporated entirely and absorbed in water, 
for using afresh. The dilute glycerine remaining can be 
purified by filtering it through animal charcoal, or by concen- 
trating and distilling it in the usual way. 
THE ONLY AMERICAN LEECH FARM. 
In 1841 Mr. H. Witte established a small leech farm in Kent 
Avenue, Williamsburg, L.I. In course of time this small 
establishment was abandoned, and one of thirteen acres was 
established near Newtown, L.I., and to him the writer is 
indebted for the following information and description of the 
only leech farm in America. The breeding ponds consist of 
oblong squares of one and a-half acres each. The bottoms of 
these ponds are of clay, the margins of peat. In J une the leeches 
begin forming their cocoons on the peat margins of the pond. 
The greatest enemies to the young leeches are musk-rats, 
water-rats, and water-shrews, who dig the cocoons out of the 
soft peat breeding margins. Next to rats and shrews is over- 
heating of the peat or the water of the pond ; in fact, nothing 
is so fatal to leeches as a too high temperature. Mr. Witte 
says he has had leeches frozen in solid ice, but by slowly dis- 
solving the ice and gradually increasing the temperature of the 
water the leeches sustained no injury. The depth of the water 
