December U, 1872] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
473 
of the stomach and intestines, and indicate the inflam¬ 
mation excited and kept up by the continuous adminis¬ 
tration of the poison. They are as follows : constant 
pain in the stomach, nausea and vomiting, especially 
after taking food or drink, griping pains, tenderness and 
distension over the abdomen, and obstinate protracted 
purging. The tongue is red and dry, and there is ur¬ 
gent thirst. The pulse is frequent, small and feeble. 
When these symptoms have continued some few days, 
those of the secondary class become developed and are 
produced by the absorption of the poison into the blood 
and the constant saturation of the tissues of the body 
with it. These are: redness and suffusion of the 
eyes and intolerance of light, salivation and ulceration 
of the gums, a discharge from the nostrils, cough and ex¬ 
pectoration sometimes bloody, strangury, a peculiar ecze¬ 
matous eruption on the skin, emaciation and great mus¬ 
cular prostration ; convulsions, numbness and tingling 
in the fingers and toes, ending often in paralysis, espe¬ 
cially of the lower extremities. As the case progresses, 
convulsions, numbness, stiffness, tingling and paralysis 
of the lower extremities (sometimes the upper), and of 
the lower half of the body, generally permanent, and 
ending in death. Orfila was the first to prove experi¬ 
mentally on dogs that when a solution of arsenic is in¬ 
jected into the empty stomach, it is absorbed into the 
blood and diffused or deposited in every part of the 
body in the short space of an hour and a half. From 
the rapidity with which the poison destroys life by its 
action on the brain and heart, there can be no doubt that 
the absorption and diffusion of arsenic throughout the 
body is equally as rapid in the human subject as in the 
dog or other animals, the laws of osmosis being alike 
in each. Arsenic is not a natural constituent of the 
human body, and does not enter into the formation of 
any of the tissues, and no sooner is it deposited in any 
of them than its removal from the body, or elimination, 
as it is termed, begins to take place. This is effected by 
the organs of excretion, more especially by the kidneys, 
and is no doubt due to the fact that arsenic does not 
form an insoluble compound by combining with the tis¬ 
sues ; but being a crystalloid it is subject to the laws 
of osmosis and cast out of the body dissolved in water. 
Orfila first detected by experiment on dogs that the urine 
becomes impregnated with arsenic in from three and a 
half to five hours after the poison had been injected into 
the stomach. Further experiments and actual observa¬ 
tion on the human subject have clearly demonstrated 
that arsenic is gradually and completely removed from 
the body, after having been deposited in the tissues, in 
the course of from twelve to fifteen or twenty days after 
its administration has ceased, consequently it will not be 
detected in the tissues after death, by chemical analysis, 
if the victim survives the operation of even a large fatal 
dose, for a period exceeding fifteen or twenty days, as¬ 
suming the kidneys to be healthy as well as the other 
organs of excretion. It follows from the facts just 
stated that in a case of suspected poisoning by arsenic, 
and more especially in chronic and subacute cases, 
when suspicions of foul play have been roused, portions 
of the urine should at once be secured for chemical 
analysis, taking precautions, of course, to secure the iden¬ 
tity of the specimens procured. This procedure is in¬ 
dispensable in forming a correct diagnosis, and one which 
should never be omitted by the medical attendant, be¬ 
cause, should the case be one of arsenical poisoning, the 
instrument of destruction will not, with ordinary care, 
escape detection. A lecture on arsenic would be incom¬ 
plete if the subject of poisoning by the arsenite of copper 
—Scheele’s green—were to be omitted. This substance 
enters into the composition, more or less largely, of va¬ 
rious pigments, namely : emerald green, mineral green, 
Vienna green, Brunswick green, etc. It is, therefore, 
found in the oil paint cakes of water colours, in wafers, 
adhesive envelopes, and as a green paint for toys. But 
it has been used most abundantly of all in green decora¬ 
tive paper hangings, especially those called “green 
flocks,” by which so much mischief has been done. So 
great was the demand for these papers a few years ago 
that Dr. Taylor stated in the last edition of his work on 
poisons (1859) that a manufacturer told him that his 
average consumption of arsenic in making them was two 
tons weekly. The publicity given by the press since 
then to the serious injury to health, and even death, 
caused by these papers, seems to have rendered them 
much less fashionable in this country. The Prussian 
Government, after a thorough investigation, prohibited 
their manufacture altogether. 
MANCHESTER CHEMISTS’ ASSISTANTS’ 
ASSOCIATION. 
The third meeting of the session was hold at the new 
Lecture-room, 37, Blackfriars Street, on Monday even¬ 
ing, November 18th; the President, Mr. Lane, in the 
chair. 
A lecture was given by Mr. Siebold on “ Volumetric 
Analysis.” He explained the different modes of quanti¬ 
tative analysis, both by the ponderal and volumetrical 
methods, and showed the great advantage of the latter 
both in the saving of time and the increased accuracy of 
the result. 
The lecturer practically tested the strength of acid, 
hydrocyan, dil., acid sulphurosum, etc., by the volumetric 
method, and the frequent applause of a large audience 
testified its thorough appreciation of the explanation 
and complete success of the numerous experiments. 
At the close of the lecture a hearty vote of thanks was 
given to Mr. Siebold. 
The fourth ordinary fortnightly meeting was occupied 
with the reading of a paper on “ Opium,” by Mr. R. de 
Burton. After describing the mode of obtaining it, 
“its varieties” and “constituents,” the reader briefly 
referred to the large doses of morphia and other active 
ingredients sometimes met with, which greatly exceeded 
those of the Pharmacopoeia, thereby causing a doubt 
to exist in the mind of the dispenser as to whether it was 
intentional or an oversight. 
It was thought by the meeting that in all such 
cases where the dose of morphia and other active ingre¬ 
dients exceeded that of the Pharmacopoeia, a mark of 
some kind attached by the prescriber, confirming his in¬ 
tention, would greatly assist the despatch of the medi¬ 
cine, and relieve the dispenser from much anxiety. 
GLASGOW CHEMISTS AND DRUGGISTS’ 
ASSOCIATION. 
The second general meeting of the association was 
held in Anderson’s University, on Wednesday evening, 
27th November, at nine o’clock. 
In the unavoidable absence of the President and Vice- 
President, Mr. Kinninmont was elected chairman. 
After the minutes of last meeting had been read and 
approved of, Mr. Wm. McKenzie was elected as trea¬ 
surer. 
It was stated that the arrangements for Mr. John 
Curne’s class were almost completed, so that the class 
would start in a few days. 
Several members were then elected, after which the 
Chairman introduced Dr. John Clark, Lecturer on Che¬ 
mistry, Glasgow, who delivered a very instructive and 
interesting lecture on the “ Oxides of Hydrogen.” 
At the close of last session a motion was passed in¬ 
structing the Council to take some active steps to raise 
the prices by retail of many of the drugs and chemicals 
that had advanced very much in price, and, if possible, 
to adopt a complete retail price-list, both for dispensing 
and general drugs. It was thought advisable, however, 
to consult the trade generally in regard to such a matter,. 
