657 
February 15,1873.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
Robbery by an Assistant. 
At Worship Street Police-court, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 
Jonathan Kitchen, 36, described as a chemist’s assistant, 
living in How Street, Kingsland Road, was charged 
before Mr. Bushby with having stolen a quantity of 
spirits of wine and other things, the property of his em¬ 
ployers, Messrs. Charles Bewlay and Son, surgeons, of 
174, Kingsland Road. 
It appeared from the evidence of Mr. Bewlay, jun., 
that the prisoner had only recently been engaged as 
shop assistant, and on Saturday, about two days after he 
had commenced his duties, a quantity of spirits of wine 
was given into his care. On Monday when it was 
wanted it was gone, and the prisoner in explanation said 
that he had made eau-de-cologne of it. The explanation 
was accepted, and nothing more was thought of it at the 
time. Later in the day, however, the prosecutor having- 
left his purse on a table, the prisoner was seen by the 
shop boy to take some stamps from it and put them into 
his own pocket. The prosecutor then made inquiries, 
and found that no eau-de-cologne had been made with 
the spirits of wine. The prisoner, too, had made false 
entries in the books, and other drugs were missing. 
His defence now was, that if drinking the spirits of wine 
was stealing, he was guilty. 
The prosecutor recommended the prisoner to mercy, 
and Mr. Bushby sentenced him to three months’ im¬ 
prisonment, with hard labour. 
Poisoning by Carbolic Acid. 
An inquest has been held at the Central London Dis¬ 
trict Schools, Hanwell, upon the body of a lad named 
John Winter, who was poisoned throug h drinking carbolic 
acid from a bottle placed in a cupboard in No. 6 ward. 
It appeared from the evidence that one of the nurses 
in No. 6 ward, had in her possession several ounces of 
the poison for the purpose of cleaning the closets. She 
placed the bottle in a cupboard where she usually kept 
her food, leaving the door unlocked. She stated that 
she had frequently known the lads to take her victuals 
from the cupboard and go away and eat the food. The 
deceased is supposed to have reached the cupboard by 
the aid of a chair, and to have drunk some of the poison 
in ignorance of it3 deleterious qualities. He was found 
insensible upon the floor, half way between his bed and 
the cupboard. The doctor was sent for, but the lad 
died in a few hours. The jury, after some consultation, 
returned a verdict of “ accidentally poisoned,” adding 
that for the future more care should be exercised by the 
murses in the use of poisons, and that the rules of the 
establishment should be strictly complied with. 
Death from an Overdose of Laudanum. 
The death of Dr. Curran, of Wadebridge, from an 
overdose of laudanum, is reported in the Western Daily 
Mercury. It appears that on the evening of Tuesday, 
February 4th, the deceased gentleman requested his at¬ 
tendant to fetch him from the surgery the bottle contain¬ 
ing laudanum. He then poured some into a wine-glass, 
and drank it, remarking that he felt it necessary to take 
a sleeping draught. Afterwards he poured into the 
glass another smaller quantity, and drank it, remarking 
that he thought the first w r as not sufficient to effect the 
purpose he desired. Soon afterwards he complained of 
being unwell, and said he feared he had taken too much, 
Medical assistance was immediately procured, but the 
unfortunate sufferer gradually sank, and expired at four 
•o’clock the next morning. 
Death from an Overdose of Hydrate of Chloral 
On Tuesday, February 4th, Mr. Clarke Aspinall, the 
borough Coroner, held an inquest on the body of John 
Richards (34), a chemist, at 41, Paradise Street. The 
deceased had for the last six years complained of his 
heart, and had for some time been taking hydrate of 
chloral to make him sleep. He took a dose on Tuesday 
night, and between eleven and twelve o’clock, as he was 
sitting smoking in his chair, his pipe fell from his 
hand. He became insensible, and before a doctor could 
arrive he was dead. The doctor was of opinion that 
death resulted from an overdose of hydrate of chloral, 
and the jury returned a verdict accordingly .—Liverpool 
Daily Courier. 
Notice has been received of the death of the follow¬ 
ing 
On the 21st December, 1872, Mr. Peter McCrackan, 
Chemist and Druggist, of Yauxhall Road, Liverpool, 
aged thirty. 
On the 5th February, 1873, Mr. John Watkins, Che¬ 
mist and Druggist, of Globe Road, Mile End, aged sixty- 
eight. Mr. Watkins was elected an annuitant on the 
Benevolent Fund in October, 1871. 
On the 7th February, 1873, Mr. George Stevenson, 
Chemist and Druggist, of Burnley, Lancashire, aged 
fifty-one. 
ItWttos. 
Year-Book of Pharmacy and Transactions of the 
British Pharmaceutical Conference. London. 
1872. 
A Year-Book of Therapeutics, Pharmacy and Allied 
Sciences. Edited by Horatio C. Wood, jun., M.D. 
New York. 1872. 
Once more a handsome volume containing an abstract 
of the Pharmaceutical progress during the past twelve 
months from July ’71 to June ’72 has been presented to 
the members of the British Pharmaceutical Conference. 
It is divided as usual into two distinct divisions; the 
first portion of four hundred pages being devoted to the 
Year Book proper; and the remainder to the Transac¬ 
tions of the Ninth Annual Meeting held at Brighton. 
Its compilation is highly to the credit of the editor Mr. 
Charles H. Wood, though he apparently labours under 
the impression that he is required to produce so large a 
quantity of matter. If this assumption be correct we 
strongly suggest to the Committee of Publication to 
be content with one hundred pages less. If well digested 
abstracts are provided of communications or discoveries 
of importance the readers would, we think, have reason 
to be better satisfied—as it is, whole passages which are 
in every one’s hands and may be consulted wfith facility 
are necessarily reprinted. A well digested record, the 
main facts of which are clearly arranged and conscien¬ 
tiously reported, would prove of the utmost value, and 
the editor with restricted space would be able to concen¬ 
trate his energies on his very difficult task. 
We are also decidedly of opinion that his editorial duties 
might be lightened. No one man can possibly know 
everything. A Pharmacist skilful to the last point in 
Materia Medica cannot be expected to give us the last 
best resume of modern chemistry ; neither could an ac¬ 
complished Chemist offer to his readers a digest of cur¬ 
rent Botanical investigations such as might be ren¬ 
dered by a Professor of that science. Why cannot 
certain members of our Conference furnish reports on 
those subjects with which they are intimately connected, 
and thus with little trouble to themselves and with great 
gain as far as others are concerned, increase beyond 
measure the interest of publications such as the one just 
now before us. So while we regret the large infusion 
of republished microscopical characters, and other notices 
of similar description, we turn with unmixed satisfaction 
to Mr. Wood’s own work. The introduction is beyond 
praise—it recounts concisely the various novelties that 
