CORRESPONDENCE. 
S 71 
the alleged impunity of pigeons to opium 
stramonium, and hyoscyamus. 
; goats to tobacco ; and rabbits to belladonna, 
Ex pl °s io u of Dynamite.— It would appear that, in spite of the assurance to the 
contrary this substance is not free from danger. An accident occurred at DOnnwald 
near Cologne, during the manufacture of about 2 cwt. of dynamite, by which fifteen 
men were blown to pieces, and the factory completely destroyed. The explosion, the 
cause of which is unexplained, was accompanied by a bright flash, and the shock, felt 
tor a very great distance, was at first attributed to an earthquake. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
Communications for this Journal , and boohs for review , should he addressed 
to the Editor, 17, Bloomsbury Square. 
Mr. Dickinson and the Scrutineers. 
Dear Sir,—Although my name does not 
appear in the list of. scrutineers, being com¬ 
pelled to leave early-; yet I feel bound to 
express to you the indignation I feel at 
the dishonest conduct of Mr. Dickinson in 
tampering with the voting papers, and to 
assure you that I endeavoured to mark every 
vote precisely as he called them, and I 
believe the other two gentlemen did the same. 
I would also remark, that with regard to 
the system of examining the votes, al¬ 
though I was an utter stranger to it until 
appointed scrutineer, I think it very good, 
and if carried out honourably and fairly, 
mistake would be almost impossible. The 
one defect that struck me at the time was 
the power which the Chairman had of giving 
the numbers wTong, but this would be re¬ 
medied by plaeing another gentleman at his 
side as a cheek upon him. As the other two 
gentlemen associated with Mr. Dickinson in 
the scrutiny were present to answer for them¬ 
selves, and to clear their characters from any 
suspicion of complicity in the fraud, I thought 
it only right for me to do the same, and I 
repeat my abhorrence of the dishonest and 
unmanly act of which Mr. Dickinson stands 
self-accused. 
I remain, dear Sir, 
Yours most truly, 
J. Turner. 
Aylesbury, June 2nd, 1870. 
Regulations eor Keeping and 
Dispensing Poisons. 
Sir,—There is a slight omission in the re¬ 
port of what I said at the General Meeting 
of the members on the 18th ult., as given 
on page 796 of the last number of the 
Journal. Referring to the supposed diffi¬ 
culties in the way of observing the proposed 
regulations for storing poisons, I said that 
persons -who kept arsenic in a cask in a cellar 
had only, in addition to the label “ Poison,” 
to put over it a lid with a padlock. 
I think it material that the nature of the 
regulations should be clearly understood, 
and I hope that during the current year we 
shall all, by trying to observe them, see 
where the shoe pinches. 
Your insertion of this correction of the 
generally excellent report will oblige, 
Your obedient servant, 
John Abraham. 
June 6, 1870. 
Dear Sir,—You were good enough to in¬ 
sert a short note from me in the present 
month’s Journal, and I should have liked 
to ask our members present at the meeting 
on Wednesday last what they thought of 
that recommendation.; but the heat of de¬ 
bate was so great, and so many were anxious 
to speak upon the subjects before the meet¬ 
ing, that I could not manage to ask mv 
little question without fear of being out of 
order. 
Whilst on the subject of poisons and 
poisonings, I should like to offer another 
piece of advice. Although a staunch Con¬ 
servative in most things, there is one ancient 
institution in connection with our trade that 
a little reform, and it is a very little reform, 
would do good in. I allude to the keeping 
of our bottles in the exact relative positions 
they usually occupy. From a tolerably large 
experience, I am convinced we get into a 
mechanical way of reaching down bottles 
when dispensing in a hurry. And the only 
remedy I can at present think of is, when 
dusting bottles, to change the position of 
every two bottles on our shelves occasionally 
backwards and forwards, so as still to keep 
them in about the same position they have 
occupied so long. One would soon cease to 
