36 
MISCELLANEA. 
The Adulteration of Medicine with Methylated Spirit.—An inquiry has 
been held by Mr. Richards, deputy-coroner, at the Crown Tavern, Charles Street, Mile 
End, respecting the death of a child named John R. Lawson, and in the course of the pro¬ 
ceedings a very abominable sort of adulteration of medicines was made known. Mrs. 
Lawson, the wife of a beer-shop keeper, said that deceased was ailing with the whoop¬ 
ing-cough, and she took him to a surgeon in Newington Causeway. The name “Tanner’’ 
was on a plate outside the door, and the house was a private one. Mr. Tanner said the 
child had chicken-pock, and was very dangerously ill. He gave a bottle of medicine, 
and some ointment, for which he charged Is. 3d. She gave the medicine three times, 
and each time he was violently sick from it. The next morning she removed from South¬ 
wark to James Street, Mile End, and as the child seemed dying, she called in Mr. Reilly. 
Mr. F. J. Reilly, M.R.C.S., said that the child died from acute bronchitis. He had made 
a slight chemical analysis of the medicine produced, and found it to contain poppies and 
iron prepared with methylated spirits of wine. Methylated spirits of wine was used by 
French polishers as a substitute for naphtha, which destroyed their eyes. The Govern¬ 
ment allowed spirits of wine to be sold free of duty if it was methylated or adulterated 
by some naphtha being passed through it to render it unfit for drinking purposes, and con¬ 
sequently it could be bought for 65. 6c?. a gallon, while spirits of wine unsophisticated 
cost 22 s. a gallon. It was most improper to use methylated spirits for medicine—it 
would sicken any patient, but it had not caused the deceased’s death. The jury said that 
even the smell of the medicine was disgusting ; it was like bad naphtha. Mr. Reilly said 
that he could not find the name “ Tanner ” in the ‘ Directory.’ The jury returned a 
verdict that the deceased died from bronchitis from natural causes, and the jury strongly de¬ 
precated the use of methylated spirits for medicine in the place of pure spirits of 
wine. 
Preservation of Flowers with their BJatural Colours.—Dried flowers, in 
their natural colours, have for some time past appeared for sale in the shops. The mode 
in which the operation is effected is this:—A vessel, with a moveable cover, is provided, 
and having removed the cover from it, a piece of metallic gauze of moderate fineness is 
fixed over it, and the cover replaced. A quantity of sand is then taken sufficient to fill 
the vessel, and passed through a sieve into an iron pot, where it is heated, with the 
addition of a small quantity of stearine, carefully stirred, so as to thoroughly mix the 
ingredients. The quantity of stearine to be added is at the rate of half a pound to one 
hundred pounds of sand. Care must be taken not to add too much, as it would sink to 
the bottom and injure the flowers. The vessel with its cover on, and the gauze beneath 
it, is then turned upside down, and the bottom being removed, the flowers to be operated 
upon are carefully placed on the gauze and the sand gently poured in, so as to cover the 
flowers entirely, the leaves being thus prevented from touching each other. The vessel 
is then put in a hot place, such for instance as the top of a baker’s oven, where it is left 
for forty-eight hours. The flowers thus become dried, and they retain their natural 
colours. The vessel still remaining bottom upwards, the lid is taken off, and the sand 
runs away through the gauze, leaving the flowers uninjured .—Journal of Society of Aids. 
Accidental Poisoning by Oxalic Acid.—A melancholy event has occurred at 
Malton, whereby Mr.William Moorhouse, a tradesman of the town, has met sudden death. 
From a coroner’s inquiry, which occupied most of Thursday, June 15, it was ascertained 
that death had resulted from a very strong dose of oxalic acid; and from the evidence of 
deceased’s widow it appeared she had seen her husband that morning drink what was 
supposed to be a cupful of Epsom salts and at once retire to bed, where he died a dis¬ 
tressing death in about an hour. The cup, from which Mr. Moorhouse had drunk, con¬ 
tained crystals which proved to be those of oxalic acid, a solution of which is constantly 
in use in saddlery, deceased’s trade. The jury found that the deceased had poisoned him¬ 
self by drinking oxalic acid in mistake for Epsom salts. 
Poisoning by Mitrate of Silver.—A little boy, about ten years old, in company 
with two others, entered the shop of Mrs. Crowe, chemist, Tredegar, to make some trifling 
purchase, and, unobserved, took away a bottle containing caustic. Believing the contents 
of the bottle were sweets, the boy distributed the caustic to his companions and upwards 
of twenty other children, but seeing one another’s lips turn black, and some of the 
children feeling a burning in the throat, they began to cry. Fortunately none had 
