92 
THE CHEMIST AND DEUGGIST OF AUSTRALASIA. 
April 1, 1887 
cliester had gone up in a fine spray-like fountain to the ceil- 
ing, tlie pharmacist and his client betaking themselves to the 
outside of the premises in a manner well suited to the 
occasion. 
The old established business premises of Messrs. Barraud 
and Co., Chemists and Druggists, of Wellington, N.Z., were 
entirely destroyed by the disastrous fire which occurred on 
Sunday, Feb. 27, and in a few hours demolished one of the 
finest blocks of buildings in that city. Messrs. Barraud and 
Co.’s premises consisted of a handsome shop fronting Lamblon 
Quay, with a brick bulk store and ^Derfumery bond in rear, and 
were well known to everyone travelling in New Zealand. By 
the energy of a willing band of volunteers, a large quantity of 
the stock was got out and conveyed to a place of safety; but 
Mr. Sellgren (who had recently been admitted a partner in 
the business) who, with his family, occu})ied the upstairs part 
of the building, lost a considerable portion of his personal 
effects. As is usually the case in blocks containing large 
valuable buildings and stocks, Messrs. Barraud and Co.’s loss 
is not fully covered by insurances, but the value of the salvage 
will probably leave the nett loss a small one. It is probable 
that the senior partner, Mr. Charles D. Barraud, who com- 
menced business in Wellington in 1849, and has continued 
in it to the present time, will now retire. Much sympathy is 
felt throughout the community of pharmacists and by all to 
whom the firm are known ; and, although it is intimated that 
Mr. C. D. Barraud contemplates early retirement from active 
business life, we are hopeful of retaining his interest in phar- 
maceutical politics. The insurance on the premises is said 
to be about £17o0. 
The Soda Water and Cordial Factory of Mr. R. McPherson, 
Christchurch, was this morning totally destroyed by fire, also 
the residence attached. The most lamentable incident being 
the sacrifice of the proprietor’s life in attempting to rescue 
his daughter. Insurance on stock and plant, £800, and a 
small policy on Mr. McPherson's life. Inquest will be held 
to-morrow. 
Dunedin, March 15. 
(froji our own correspondent). 
Poisoning C.\se. — Still another death to record from the 
effects of “Rough on Rats,” and in this case as usual, the 
poison was self administered. From the evidence submitted 
at the inquest, it appeared that the deceased Thomas Simmons, 
(a son of the late J. C. Simmons who was principal of the 
Nelson College,) had always been in weak health, which de- 
pressed his spirits. On February 18, he visited Nelson and 
purchased a box of “ Rough on Rats.” On his mother going 
to his room, to call him next morning, she found him in great 
pain. Medical aid was procured, but young Simmons died 
shortly afterwards. He informed the doctor that he had 
taken the poison, as he felt that on account of his bad health, 
he was of no use here. A verdict of suicide while in a state 
of unsound mind was returned. This poison has obtained for 
itself here, the name of “ Rough on Men ” as well as “ Rough 
on Rats.” 
Mr. Sainsbury, who recently retired from the wholesale 
-drug firm of Messrs. Sainsbury, Ellisdon & Co., leaves 
shortly for the Old Country. 
A Disastrous Fire occurred at Wellington on Sunday, 
February 27. Together with many other valuable places de- 
stroyed was that of Barraud & Sons, one of the oldest estab- 
lished Pharmacies in the Colony. This is a bad beginning for 
our late townsman Mr. Sellgren who recently left Dunedin to 
take over this business. 
Mr. Boulton, who has been managing the branch business 
of Messrs. B. Bagley and Sons, opened a few months ago in 
Princess-street south, has taken over the idace in his own 
name, where he still intends to carry on business. 
The Timaru Poisoning Case.— The Appeal Court met 
specially on March 8 to receive evidence and settle the famous 
Timaru poisoning case. By the decision given on the 12th, 
the conviction of the convict Hall is quashed. Both press and 
public accept the decision as lawfully just, but it is a matter of 
common regret that such a scoundrel has escaped his due, for 
everyone agrees with the jury’s verdict, and believes Hall 
guilty of murder. 
At Timaru on March 9, Dr. MacIntyre was presented by the j 
Mayor, on behalf of the subscribers, with a purse of 200 i 
sovereigns, a case of surgical instruments and a gold watch, i 
■which bore this inscription: “Presented to P. Macintyre, ) 
M.B.,C.M., with a case of surgical instruments and purse of 
sovereigns, in recognition of services he rendered society by 
being the means of exposing and bringing to justice the accused 
in the poisoning case Regina v. Hall. Timaru, March 8, 
1887.” 
Dr. Ewart, of Lyttelton, has been appointed resident surgeon 
of the Timaru Hospital. 
Pharmacy Board. — Up to the present no candidates have 
signified their intention of submitting themselves for examina- 
tion at the April meeting of the Pharmacy Board. Messrs. 
J. M. Wilkinson and B. Bagley continue to act as examiners 
at Dunedin. 
Erratum. — Battley’s Liq. Cinchona costs landed here 2s. 
8d. per ounce, and not j)er drachm as stated in my last letter. 
NEW ZEALAND MEDICINAL PLANTS AND THE 
ERUPTION OF TARAWERA, 
[The following are extracts from a very interesting letter 
we have recently received from a gentleman who is not a 
pharmacist] 
To the Editor of The Cheniist ami Druggist of Australasia. 
Sir — W hile botanising in various parts of the country, the 
properties of several plants not mentioned in Colenso’s Essay 
on the medicinal properties of New Zealand plants, have been 
brought under my own observation, and three of these 
especially deserve attention, as they are abundant. 
These are Haloragls aJata, Poly podium Billardieri, and the 
Hydrocotyle asiatica. The first of these, called by the natives 
to'atoa, is used as the remedy in severe wounds and bruises. 
The plant is heated over a fire and the juice from it is then 
squeezed over the injured part. I have been assured that it 
not only heals but imparts great vigor to the body. 
The second plant, Polypodium Billardleri, is used by the 
natives for affections of the eye, more especially for the eyes 
of old men. The rhizome is pounded up and then steeped for 
half an hour in hot water and a little of the infusion is then 
dropped into the eye. I followed these vague directions and 
tried the infusion on a cat that suffered from watery eyes. 
The cure was rapid and permanent. The rhizome of the 
same plant is also roasted and ]iut into the ear in the case of 
ear-ache. 
The third plant, Hydrocotyle asiatica, is very abundant in 
swampy grounds, and it seems to possess the purifying pro- 
perties of the same plant in India. It is used with good 
effect in cases of piles, but whether it surpasses the remedies 
at present known cannot yet be decided. 
I would have acknowledged the receipt of your magazine 
earlier but that I was away at the Hot Lakes for the purpose of 
seeing the ruin and desolation said to exist there. It was 
pleasant to find that the desolation was greatly exaggerated, 
and that of all the wonders the only one ruined was the terraces. 
Some able scientists are now studying the phenomena, and 
no doubt their reports will appear in due time ; but in con- 
sidering the explosion from a chemical point of view, it 
appears to be the result of an experiment in glass-making 0 )i 
a very grand scale, but rather an unsuccessful one. The 
glass is met with in all directions, even on the top of Ruawahia. 
It appears that down in the heart of the mountain the 
sodium of common salt united with the silica and lime and 
other necessary ingredients to form soluble and insoluble 
glass. The chlorine was set free that in its turn decomposed 
the water, and a general outburst of the loose materials was 
the result. The mud shower on the lakes has of course the 
effect of making the water white, from the partly soluble 
silica, and it will take a very long time for the water to get 
clear again as there is no supply of ammonia to precipitate 
the silica. In experimenting with the specimens taken from 
the hill I was struck with the resemblance of the reactions to 
the ordinary experiments made with silica in glass-making. 
It is not hard to account for the enormous storage of 
sodium chloride necessary for the explosion : and indeed the 
chlorine must have been abundant to keep the mountain on 
fire even now at no great depth. But Tarawera appears to be 
must have caused an ever increasing mass of this deposit. 
Whatever may have been the cause, a few years will 
scarcely have passed before the damage is fully repaired and 
the beauties of the district will be lauded as highly as ever. 
Yours truly, JAS. ADAMS. 
Thames High School, Feb. 24, 1887. 
