BOTTLES AND LABELS FOR PREVENTING ACCIDENTAL POISONING. 351 
M. Triana, who is now engaged in writing a flora of New Granada, informs me 
that the legumes of Cassia moschata supply the place in that country of Cassia 
fistula, a fact which renders their occasional importation into Europe not sur¬ 
prising. From Cassia fistula, they may be distinguished by their smaller size 
(1 to 1^ feet long by 6 to 8 lines broad) ; their form, which is less regularly 
straight and cylindrical and often attenuated at the apex ; and their pale, austere- 
tasting pulp. This last character would render their substitution for ordinary 
cassia undesirable. 
Professor Bentley was glad to find that Mr. Hanbury had satisfac¬ 
torily traced the botanical source of the Small American Cassia to Cassia 
moschata of Humboldt and Bonpland. Mr. Hanbury had referred to the ana¬ 
lysis of this kind of cassia which had been made many years since by M. 
Henry, and which had been published in the Journal de Chimie Medic ale. He 
(Professor Bentley) had not referred to that analysis for some years, but so far 
as he now remembered, he thought M. Henry had published two analyses, one of 
the ordinary officinal Cassia Fistula, and another of the present Small American 
Cassia Fistula , by which he had shown that the latter contained much less of 
the matter resembling tannic acid, and more sugar, etc., than the former. This 
was remarkable, as, judging from the astringent taste of the pulp of the Small 
American Cassia Fistula , and comparing it with the taste of officinal Cassia 
Fistula , we should have expected the reverse. It was desirable that a fresh ana¬ 
lysis should be made of the two kinds of cassia pulp. 
BOTTLES AND LABELS POP PREVENTING ACCIDENTAL 
POISONING. 
The President said the very important question of the prevention of acci¬ 
dental poisoning had often been brought before meetings of their Society, but 
it appeared that the subject was not yet exhausted, as two gentlemen were 
prepared on that occasion to submit their inventions bearing upon the ques¬ 
tion to the meeting. 
Mr. Alexander exhibited and explained several samples of bottles with 
Thompson’s Patent Stopper adapted to them, of which there were three kinds: 
one requiring a detached key to unlock it, and therefore considered suitable for 
use as a poison-bottle ; another in which the key was combined, which when 
not in use would rest in a countersunk recess on the head of the capsule; and 
a third, in which the head of the capsule itself, having a milled edge, formed 
the key for unscrewing the cap. Mr. Alexander said that the firm to which he 
belonged would shortly be prepared to introduce the patent stoppered bottles to 
the public, at such moderate prices as would favour their extensive adoption. 
The President was inclined to think that the detached key might easily be 
lost, and that would cause much inconvenience and loss of time. He thought 
it would be impossible to bring these bottles into general use. They could not 
send out a key with every bottle of a poisonous substance. He thought also 
there was an objection to the use of metallic caps to the bottles. 
Mr. Waugh was not very favourable to poison bottles. He thought it would 
be safer and easier to put the bottle, poison and all, under lock and key, than 
to leave the bottle out and put a lock upon the stopper. It would not be 
pleasant to add to a bunch of keys one that unlocked the poison-bottle, and he 
could in some cases imagine the consternation caused by its loss. He was, how¬ 
ever, much struck with the remarkably low price at which these locked bottles 
were produced. 
2 b 2 
