POISONING BY PltUSSIC ACID. 
129 
in the matter ; but it has no bearing on the point at issue, which is whether the poison 
can have got into the rabbit by other than human agency. 
“ 4. I come now to the most important of Dr. M‘Gill’s arguments, that the flesh of 
animals fed on poisonous herbs is not poisonous to man. The instance which Dr. M‘Gill 
gives of goats feeding on hemlock may be at once dismissed. The flesh of such an 
animal, when cooked, would not be poisonous, for the poisonous principle contained in 
this plant is volatile, and disappears during the process of cooking. It so chances as that 
there is a case on record which admirably illustrates this, and which is related in the 
‘ Lancet ’ for June 24, 1843. A number of persons were poisoned by eating hemlock in 
a salad, though the cook had a few days previously plucked a quantity of leaves from 
the identical plant, mistaking it for chervil, and used them in her soup, without any ill 
resulting to those who partook of it. Atropine is not thus got rid of in cooking, as may 
be seen in a case also recorded in the ‘Lancet’ (August 29, 1846), where a family was 
poisoned by eating a pie made with belladonna berries. The instance, then, of the goat 
and its hemlock may be dismissed. We have, however, positive evidence that the flesh 
of animals fed without harm to themselves on poisonous herbs becomes poisonous to man. 
The pheasant of Pennsylvania feeds, during the spring, on the buds of th eKalmici loti folia, 
one of the few shrubs which preserve their verdure during the cold season, and is deemed 
poisonous at that season ; an opinion in which Beck, a valuable authority on medical 
jurisprudence, agrees. In the ‘ Medical Gazette ’ (xxxi. p. 237) the case is recorded of a 
family at Clermont, near Toulouse, who fell victims to a dish of snails, which had been 
collected from the poisonous plant, known to botanists as Coriaria myrtifolia , but called 
‘ rondont ’ in the patois of the country. An example still more to the purpose is that of 
bees fed on Datura, a plant which contains a poison, if not identical, at any rate very 
similar to atropine. The honey derived from these bees has long been known to be 
poisonous, and Dr. Barton, who has paid attention to the subject, recommends the re¬ 
moval of all fetid or poisonous vegetables from the neighbourhood of hives. (Beck, Med. 
Jurispr. 855.) 
“In conclusion, Sir, let me say that I think I have clearly established the following 
points:—Rabbits will eat belladonna without injury to themselves. Animals fed on 
poisonous plants, though themselves uninjured, may be poisonous to man. There is no 
evidence that such was not the case with the famous rabbit of Ashburton.” 
POISONING BY PRUSSIC ACID. 
On Saturday, August 5th, a man called at the Star Coffee House, Red Lion Street, 
Holborn, to know if he could be accommodated with a bed-room for three children for 
a few nights. On the Monday he called again with the children, and, having seen them 
to bed, he left, and called again the following day, when, in the evening, he again saw 
them to bed. 
On the following morning, as the children did not make their appearance at the 
usual hour, one of the chambermaids entered the room and found all the children dead, 
evidently from poison. Having effectually disposed of these poor children, the man, 
who appears to have passed under the names of Southey and Forward, had gone down 
to Ramsgate, and there deliberately murdered his wife and child. 
The inquest held upon the bodies of the three children was adjourned for the purpose 
of receiving the report of Dr. Harley’s analysis, and was resumed on Tuesday, Aug. 15th. 
The following is the result of Dr. Harley’s investigation:—On removing the lid of the 
jar containing the viscera of the youngest of the three children, an odour resembling 
that of myrrhane, or of cherry-laurel Avater, became perceptible. The viscera consisted 
of the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, and part of the brain. All were perfectly 
healthy, though somewhat congested. In the stomach were about six ounces of semi- 
digested food, with an acid reaction. As the suspected murderer stated that the chil¬ 
dren were poisoned with nicotine, the active principle of tobacco, that poison was care¬ 
fully looked for in the stomach and other viscera, but with an entirely negative result; 
whereas the analysis yielded distinct evidence of the presence of prussic acid. No other 
poison was detected. The jar containing the viscera of the second child was next exa¬ 
mined. It had a similar odour to the other, though not so strongly marked. The 
