142 
ACCIDENTAL POISONING BY LAUDANUM. 
ferent proportions, a degree of expertness is obtained which enables the operator to form 
an accurate estimate of the amount of each ingredient in any sample that may be sub¬ 
mitted for his examination. 
Not only may coffee be thus to a great extent separated from any chicory with which 
it is mingled, but nearly all the other substances used for the purposes of adulteration, 
as exhausted coffee-grounds, wheat, etc., also subside rapidly with the chicory and col¬ 
lect in the small tube. If it is desired to determine the character of the matter that 
precipitates quickly, we must resort to the microscope, when, by the nature of the cells 
and other structures found, we can soon decide upon the true character of the foreign 
substances. The presence of chicory is readily and satisfactorily proved ; and if peas, 
beans, etc., are present, they may be easily distinguished by the peculiarities of the 
starch-cells of each. Such microscopic examinations are greatly facilitated by the use 
of the tubes I have described; for, when the subsidence is complete, and we have read 
off the proportion of adulteration, it only remains to remove the cork gently from the 
small tube, and allow a little of the lower portion of the sediment which contains the 
foreign matters to escape into a shallow dish, whence particles may be transferred to the 
microscope-slide ; and, if it is necessary, we may in this manner examine layer after 
layer of the deposit. 
In the hope that the above communication may be found worthy of a place in your 
valuable Journal, I am, Gentlemen, yours very respectfully, 
John C. Draper. 
THE HYPODERMIC INJECTION OF REMEDIES. 
The following is the result arrived at by the Committee of the Royal Medical and 
Chirurgical Society on this subject. The agents employed were aconitine, morphine, 
atropine, strychnine, quinine, conia, podophyllin, iodide of potassium, Battley’s sedative, 
prussic acid, colocynth, aloes, and the Calabar bean :— 
“ 1. That, as a general rule, only clear neutral solutions of drugs should be injected, 
for such solutions rarely produce local irritation. 2. That whether drugs be injected 
under the skin, or administered by the mouth or rectum, their chief physiological and 
therapeutical effects are the same in kind, though varying in degree. 3. But that symp¬ 
toms are observed to follow the subcutaneous injection of some drugs which are absent 
when they are administered by the other methods, and, on the other hand, certain un¬ 
pleasant symptoms which are apt to follow the introduction of the drugs by the mouth 
and rectum are not usually experienced when such drugs are injected under the skin. 
4. That, as a general rule,—to which, however, there may be exceptions,—clear neutral 
solutions of drugs introduced subcutaneously are more rapidly absorbed and more intense 
in their effects than when introduced by the rectum or the mouth. 5. That no difference 
has been observed in the effects of a drug subcutaneously injected, whether it be intro¬ 
duced near to, or at a distance from, the part affected. 6. That the advantages to be 
derived from this method of introducing drugs are—(a) rapidity of action ; (6) intensity 
of effect; (c) economy of material; ( d ) certainty of action; (e) facility of introduction 
in certain cases; (/) with some drugs the avoidance of unpleasant symptoms. This 
plan, therefore, is most likely to be adopted where very rapid and decided effects are re¬ 
quired from drugs which are operative in small doses.” 
ACCIDENTAL POISONING BY LAUDANUM. 
At Leicester, August 16th, an inquest was held before the coroner, Mr. J. Gregory, 
on the body of a child, named James Henry Herbert, whose parents reside in Grange 
Lane, in that town, and who had been poisoned through the negligence of a shopkeeper, 
named Alfred Peberdy. On Wednesday deceased was unwell, when his grandmother 
went to the shop of Peberdy, who sells grocery and a few drugs, for a pennyworth of 
tincture of rhubarb. She was given the mixture, and told by the accused to give the 
child from seven to eight drops, which she did on her arrival home. The child then 
fell asleep, and, as it continued to be very drowsy, the parents began to make in¬ 
quiries whether tincture of rhubarb would have such an effect. It was tasted, and found 
to contain the bitter flavour of opium. The grandmother then went to Peberdy and 
asked what he had given her, when he said she asked for tincture of rhubarb and he 
