November 2,1872.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTION?. 
355 
mal and vegetable matter, sand, and other articles 
was shown, which had been separated by straining 
from some specimens of socotrine aloes. He also ex¬ 
hibited a goatskin bottle, made after the fashion of the 
goat itself\ which had been found in a case of aloes, and 
also a curiously shaped knife, probably used in cutting 
the plant, which had been imbedded in the aloes. 
In giving some statistics about aloes, Dr. Squibb 
stated that socotrine aloes lost from 5 to 10 per cent, 
in straining; and if dried and strained, from 15 to as 
high as 27 per cent. During the past year 22,000 lb. 
.of the various grades of aloes were entered at the cus¬ 
tom-house of New York. 
Dr. Squibb read a volunteer paper on “Ammonic- 
Citrate of Bismuth.” This salt is not uniform in its 
solubility, which it is asserted is caused by the loss of 
.ammonia in heating it to obtain the product in scales. Dr. 
Squibb suggested that it will readily crystallize, and 
in that way a more uniform and soluble preparation 
scan be obtained. Dr. Squibb read still another paper, 
sthe subject being “ Triplex Pill,” originally introduced 
by the well-known Dr. Francis, of this city. The ori¬ 
ginal formula was afterwards modified, and as prepared 
for Dr. F. in his later years, was as follows :— 
Socot. aloes, in powder. 
Powdered virgin scammony. 
Blue pill, each one troy ounce. 
Croton oil, twenty drops. 
Oil caraway, one drachm and a half. 
Tinct. aloes and myrrh, q. s. To make 400 pills. 
Considerable discussion ensued as to the next place of 
meeting, and it was at length decided that the Associa¬ 
tion should at its rising adjourn to Richmond, Va, 
where it should reassemble on Tuesday, September 18, 
1873. 
A list of thirty-nine queries, and the names of gentle¬ 
men who had undertaken to supply answers was then 
read and approved of; as was also a list of subjects yet 
unaccepted. 
Professor Robert Bentley, of London, England, and 
M. Stanislaus Martin, the President of the Paris Societe 
de Pharmacie, were elected honorary members. 
Various votes of thanks were then passed, and the 
proceedings terminated. 
During the continuance of the meetings of the Asso¬ 
ciation the galleries of the building in which they were 
held, were appropriated for the exhibition of articles 
pertaining to pharmacy, and presented a very interesting 
and showy appearance. 
isrlianwttarj anir !fato $mttttgs. 
Serious Charge against a Druggist.* 
Edwin Eastwood, chemist and Druggist, of Dukin- 
(field, was on Thursday, October 24th, brought up at 
the Stockport court, on remand, charged with causing 
the death of Ann Jones. The deposition of deceased 
was put in evidence, in which she stated that prisoner 
had given her medicine to cause a miscarriage, and iden¬ 
tified a bottle produced as one of two that he had given 
her. The sister of deceased deposed that, in conse¬ 
quence of something deceased said, she had taken two 
bottles from her about five months before her death. 
Deceased vomited very much every day until the bottles 
were taken from her, but not afterwards. 
Professor Crace-Calvert said that he had examined the 
.contents of a bottle produced and found it to contain a 
quantity of the essential oil of savin, and of the extract 
of the leaves of savin, together with sulphate of mag¬ 
nesia, sulphate of iron, and chloride of iron. 
Mr. Moore, surgeon, who had previously stated that 
.death had resulted from puerperal fever, said that, in his 
opinion, such a mixture taken in June last might have 
produced the state of body which would have rendered 
the person susceptible of puerperal fever. 
The magistrates decided upon committing the prisoner 
for trial at the next Chester assizes on the charge of 
wilful murder. 
At the coroner’s inquest held upon the body, the jury 
also returned a verdict of wilful murder. 
The Alleged Poisoning by Arsenic. 
The trial of Ellen Kettle, for the murder of the former 
wife of her husband by poisoning, which was adjourned 
from July last* in consequence of the prisoner having 
been delivered of a child, was resumed at Chelmsford on 
Thursday, October 24th, and resulted in an acquittal. 
As a report of the evidence for the prosecution has 
already appeared in this J ournal, it will suffice to recapi¬ 
tulate the chief points. 
The prisoner, who is now only about twenty-one years 
old, is the daughter of a small farmer living at Great 
Bromley, near Manningtree. She appears to have con¬ 
ceived a passion for a middle-aged labourer, employed 
by her father, but who was already married; and whilst 
the wife was yet alive alluded in pretty plain terms to 
her early death. On the 5th of October, 1871, the 
deceased was in the fields with her children, where they 
had been eating sloes, when the prisoner brought them 
some beer in a bottle. After drinking some they all 
suffered from sickness; but the woman, who had pre¬ 
viously been unwell, took to her bed, and five days 
afterwards she died, having previously fallen through 
weakness and cut herself severely. The doctor, in his 
certificate, stated that death resulted from “ liver disease 
and exhaustionbut, being informed of the accident, 
gave his opinion that death was caused by syncope and 
loss of blood; an opinion he reiterated in evidence upon 
the trial. At the beginning of December prisoner was 
married to the widower, and on the 16th of July last 
was delivered of a full-grown child. Meanwhile, the 
prisoner’s hasty marriage and some remarks that she 
made had caused considerable excitement in the neigh¬ 
bourhood; the body was ordered to be exhumed, and 
the prisoner and her husband were taken into custody, 
the husband being afterwards discharged. In the body 
was found five grains of arsenic. At the trial it was 
proved that the prisoner had had access to arsenic, but 
it was arsenic mixed with verdigris and hogs’ fat. 
Respecting the arsenic found in the stomach, Dr. 
Stevenson, Lecturer on Chemistry at Guy’s Hospital, 
said that he had found slight traces of copper in the vis¬ 
cera ; that from one portion,—three-fourths of the liver, 
weighing 12 oz.,—he only extracted one-fifteenth of a 
grain; but from the other portion he got “ no indubitable 
proof ” of the presence of copper. In cross-examination he 
said that he had found tea in the stomach, in which there 
were sometimes traces of copper, and copper was some¬ 
times found in various articles of diet. Reminded that 
in his report he had said that “ the entire freedom from 
copper of the particles of arsenic found in the stomach, 
while not entirely negativing, does not tend to support 
the hypothesis that the arsenic had been mixed with 
verdigris,” the witness admitted this to be so, and also 
admitted that he could not say he was satisfied that the 
arsenic in the body came from the bottle containing the 
verdigris mixture. He thought it possible, and even 
probable, but could not say more. In a mixture of 
arsenic and verdigris, the taste of the verdigris would 
predominate, arsenic being nearly tasteless. It woula 
be difficult to conceive of such a disgusting mixture 
being taken in food without being at once rejected. 
Mr. Serjeant Parry, for the defence, urged that the 
question the jury had. to answer was not whether the 
prisoner was innocent, but whether she was guilt). 
* See ante, p.*55. 
* See ante, p. 338. 
