656 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [February 15, 1873. 
Frankland before coming to us bad isolated 
excited the field was rendered red or green according to 
the direction of the poles.] 
Professor 
the compound radicals methyl, ethyl, and amyl, and 
had proved their resemblance to hydrogen, lie had 
also combined them with the metals zinc, tin, mercury, 
and boron. By this means he had obtained a very 
powerful chemical reagent, which proved of eminent 
service in subsequent operations. An instance of its 
power will be found in zinc-ethyl, which by its rapid 
combination with oxygen of the air, bursts into spon¬ 
taneous combustion as soon as the flask containing it is 
opened. 
In conjunction with Mr. Duppa, Professor Frankland 
worked in our laboratory at the artificial formation of 
ethers. They treated acetic ether with iodine and with 
the iodides of methyl, ethyl, and amyl; and by their 
means they arrived at a method for the formation of 
many organic substances which had previously been ob¬ 
tained only through the agency of animals or of ve- 
did not think it -would be right for him, without consult¬ 
ing the house, to make any alterations in the Bill as it 
came from the Select Committee. There were, indeed, 
several important changes which he desired to effect in 
it; but, with the permission of the house, he -would 
reserve his statement with reference to them till the v 
second reading. 
The motion was agreed to. 
Prosecution- tor the 
Sale of 
Label. 
Laudanum without a 
getables. 
long series 
amount of 
weights 
of 
of 
of 
In 1866 Dr. Frankland determined by a 
of calorimetric experiments the maximum 
force capable of being developed by given 
the different foods commonly used by men. 
In the following year he investigated the effect 
pressure (up to 20 atmospheres) upon the luminosity 
flames of hydrogen and of carbonic oxides. He found 
that these flames, so feebly luminous at ordinary at¬ 
mospheric pressure, burn with brilliant light under 
pressures from 10 to 20 atmospheres, and that the spec¬ 
tra of these brilliant flames is perfectly continuous. 
From the latter circumstance he infers that solar light 
may be derived from glowing gas and not from incan¬ 
descent solid or liquid matter. 
As these researches have so important a bearing 
upon spectral analysis and solar physics, I will venture 
to repeat one or two of the experiments. Here are 
three closed tubes filled respectively with hydro¬ 
gen, oxygen, and chlorine, at atmospheric pressure. 
The densities of these substances are in the proportions 
1: 16 : 351 ; and if the spark from an induction coil 
be made to pass through them, the luminosity of the 
discharge will be found to be nearly in the same pro¬ 
portions. 
That this result is really due to the density^, and not 
to the chemical constitution of the gases, may be proved 
by allowing the discharge to pass through this tube, 
and by pumping air into it during the discharge. It 
will then be seen that the brilliancy increases with the 
pressure. 
These researches were suggested by an old experi¬ 
ment of Cavendish’s, in which he exploded a mixture 
of oxygen and hydrogen, first under atmospheric pres¬ 
sure and then under a pressure of from 10 to 12 at¬ 
mospheres. In the first case there is much noise and 
little light; in the second, a brilliant flash and no 
noise. The labours of Dr. Frankland have rendered 
this experiment intelligible, and have correlated it 
with other phenomena. 
{To be continued.) 
Atthe Summons Court, Belfast, on Friday, February 7th, 
Thomas Brennan, grocer, Great George’s Street, was sum¬ 
moned by Head-Constable Irwin for having sold, within 
the last six months, a quantity of opium to one Edward 
Harkley without having the bottle containing the com¬ 
modity distinctly labelled with the name of the article 
and the word “ poison.” 
Mr. M‘Lean, jun., prosecuted, and Mr. Sheals ap¬ 
peared for the defendant. 
Mr. M‘Lean stated the sections of the Act of Parlia¬ 
ment under which the prosecution was brought. The 
defendant had sold a quantity of laudanum in a bottle 
without complying with the requirements of the Act. 
A child had died in the General Hospital from the effects 
of taking that poison, and the defendant had admitted 
that he had sold the article without having labelled the 
bottle. He did not press for a heavy penalty, as this 
was the first case of the sort, but he wished to prevent 
another infringement of the law. 
Head-Constable Irwin remarked that the Coroner had 
said that grocers should scarcely be allowed to sell such 
commodities at all. 
Dr. M*Gee (who was on the Bench) said the matter 
was taken up at one time by the Apothecaries’ Society 
in Dublin. 
Mr. M‘Lean : It is not a proper commodity for a gro¬ 
cer’s shop at all. 
Mr. Sheals said he submitted his client had sold the 
laudanum without labelling the bottle which contained 
it, but it was through ignorance of the law, and he had 
gone before the Coroner and candidly admitted that he 
had sold the laudanum. He hoped that the case would 
be a warning to others not to sell these poisonous in¬ 
gredients without complying with the law. He would 
ask their worships to inflict but a mitigated penalty. 
Dr. M‘Gee (to Mr. M‘Lean) : Do you press for a high 
penalty. 
Mr. M‘Lean: No, your worship; but I want a fine 
inflicted as a precedent. 
Dr. M‘Gee: I will impose a fine of 10-s. and costs, and 
I hope it will deter others from infringing the law. The 
fine was paid. 
parliamentary nrttr gto gremMttp. 
HOUSE OF COMMONS. 
Juries Bill. 
On Monday night, February 10, the Attorney-General 
moved for leave to bring in a Bill to consolidate and 
amend the law relating to juries. He said that he pro¬ 
posed t$ introduce the Bill exactly in the shape in which 
it was left by the labours of the Select Committee which 
sat last session. That committee sat many days and 
made many important alterations in the measure. He 
Adulteration of Milk. 
At the same sitting of the above Court three cases 
were heard, where milk sellers were charged with having 
sold adulterated sweet milk. In one case, in which Dr. 
Hodges deposed that the specimen contained 13 per cent, 
of water and but 11 per cent, of solids, and nothing 
prejudicial to health, it was demanded that a sample 
should be produced in Court, and the hearing was ad¬ 
journed for that purpose. In another case, where the 
certificate of Dr. Hodges stated that the sample con¬ 
tained 22 per cent, of water, but did not give the per¬ 
centage of solids, or state whether it contained anything 
injurious to health, it -was objected that the certificate 
did not give sufficiently full details. The objection was 
allowed and the case dismissed. ■ It was stated that as a 
result of the prosecutions it was difficult to 
to send milk to Belfast. 
get farmers. 
