June 2*, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
1047 
it. I did not apply the stomach pump, as she would have 
died while I was using it. The time deceased lived was 
not very unusual. 
Edward Wells, Esq., M.D., said : Deceased was a 
patient here : I saw her every alternate day and have 
seen the body since her death. We cannot detect the 
presence of prussic acid by the smell of the body, and I 
can only say what was the cause of death from what 
I have heard. I have known the dispenser ever since he 
has been here—four years—I have always found him an 
extremely careful and punctual man ; he has had the 
management of the dispensary. Several members of the 
committee have sanctioned my saying that Mr. Hadwin 
has always been a very careful man. I think a, post¬ 
mortem would not throw much light on the subject, 
as there is no question as to the administration of the dose, 
or as to the quantity. The dose given was a necessarily 
fatal one ; therefore deceased’s life could not possibly have 
been saved. 
This being the whole of the evidence, the Coroner said 
the jury must first decide what was the cause of death. 
Mr. Hadwin had made up the draught and the nurse had 
administered it, so there could not be much doubt on that 
point. They must then decide whether the dispenser was 
guilty of gross carelessness ; if so, they would be justified 
in bringing in a verdict of manslaughter. 
The jury consulted for about ten minutes and then re¬ 
turned a verdict that “ The deceased met her death by 
poisoning by prussic acid, administered by misadventure.” 
The jury suggested that the dispenser should have more 
assistance on the busy days. 
Mr. J. H. Wilson said, the recommendation of the jury 
would be conveyed to the Board at their meeting on 
Tuesday, and on the behalf of the committee who investi¬ 
gated the case that morning he begged to assure the 
relatives of the deep sympathy they felt at the loss they 
had sustained, especially as it was the first death of the 
kind which had occurred since the hospital had been 
opened. He also wished to express the sympathy of the 
committee with Mr. Hadwin .—Berks Telegraph. 
Death from an Overdose of Paregoric. 
On Tuesday, June 24th, Mr. F. Price, coroner, held an 
inquest at Salford respecting the death of a child named 
Newton, aged seven weeks. It appeared from the 
evidence that, the child being very cross, the grandmother 
put two tablespoonfuls of warm water into a bottle which 
had contained paregoric, and in which a few drops were 
left, and after shaking the bottle, poured the liquid upon 
some sugar, and told the mother to give half of it to the 
child. The mother, however, gave the whole, and the 
child became ill, and died the same morning. The jury 
returned a verdict that the deceased died from an over¬ 
object, namely, that of limiting the number or variety of 
the medicines used, a selection being made of such as are 
considered most suitable for the purpose intended. The 
medical men attached to the hospitals are all eminent in 
;heir respective departments of the profession, and it is 
to be inferred, therefore, that the forms used by them in 
prescribing represent sound and advanced views in thera¬ 
peutics and the treatment of disease. Beyond this it 
would be unreasonable to look for much that is new or 
instructive in these formularies. Simplicity, consistency, 
and efficacy we may expect, and we find in the little work 
before us, as well as in others of a similar sort, that com¬ 
plications and refinements are generally avoided, and the 
more simple and efficacious medicines principally ordered. 
It appears, however, that even in hospital prescribing an 
appeal is sometimes made to the imagination, for we pre¬ 
sume it is for such purpose only the mixture of burnt 
sugar and water, under the name of mistura jlava, is 
required, or that cochineal colouring or tincture of 
lavender is added to a lotion. We have wondered, too 
what the object is of ordering both calamine and oxide of 
zinc in a lotion. Surely calamine is never better than 
oxide of zinc, although sometimes it may be something- 
very different from it, in which case we presume the oxide 
of zinc is intended to supply the absence of zinc from the 
so-called calamine. These, however, are small matters 
which are amply compensated for by the prevalence of a 
system of prescribing that appears to be more consistent 
with the special objects in view. In addition to diet 
scale, and instructions for reporting cases, the book con¬ 
tains 97 prescriptions, 39 of which are for mixtures, and 
the rest for various other forms for the administration of 
medicines. The principal peculiarities in this hospital 
formulary as compared with others are that the quantities 
of ingredients ordered for mixtures (the most numerous 
class °of preparations prescribed) always represent one 
dose of a fluid ounce, and that weights and measures are 
expressed according to the British, and also according to 
the metric system. We think, however, that the method 
adopted of giving the equivalents of the British weights 
and measures, not in exact, but only in approximate, quan¬ 
tities according to the metric system, is by no means a 
commendable one. We object to the practice of repre¬ 
senting the French gramme as 15 grains, and the fluid 
ounce as 30 cubic centimetres, as calculated to establish 
incorrect ideas. 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
Jahresbericht uber die Fortschritte der Chemie 
und verwandter Theile anderer Wissenschaften. 
Herausgegeben von Alexander Naumann. Fiir 
1870. Drittes Heft. Giessen : J. Ricker, 1873. 
dose of paregoric, and the coroner cautioned the mother 
and grandmother to be more careful in future.— Man¬ 
chester Courier. 
Ikteeto. 
Pharmacopeia of the University College Hospital. 
Published by Authority of the Medical Committee, 
1873. Edited by William Martindale, Pharmaceu¬ 
tical Chemist, etc. London. 1873. 
The practice now generally adopted by the London 
hospitals of publishing the forms for the administration 
of medicines used by their respective medical staffs, has 
its advantages, although something might perhaps be said 
against it. The principal object, we presume, of compiling 
these hospital Pharmacopoeias is that of economizing time 
in prescribing as well as dispensing the medicines ordered 
for the hospital patients. There may also be another 
Manual of Chemical Analysis as applied to the 
Examination of Medicinal Chemicals. A Guide 
for the Determination of their Identity and Quality, and 
for the Detection of Impurities and Adulterations. By 
Frederick Hoffmann, Ph.D., Pharmaceutist. New 
York : Appleton and Co. 1873. From the Publishers. 
The Mineral Springs of the United States and 
Canada, with Analyses and Notes of the Prominent 
Spas of Europe, and a list of Sea-side Resorts. By 
George E. Walton, M.D., etc., New York : Appleton 
and Co. 1873. From the Publishers. 
The following journals have been received :—The ‘British 
Medical Journal/ June 21 ; the ‘ Medical Times and 
Gazette/ June 21; the ‘ Lancet/ June 21; the ‘London 
Medical Record/ June 21; ‘ Medical Press and Circular, 
June 21; ‘Nature/ June 21; ‘ Chemical News/ June 21 
‘Gardeners’ Chronicle/ June 21; the ‘Grocer/June 21 
‘ Journal of the Society of Arts/ June 21; ‘ Grocery News, 
June 21; ‘Produce Markets Review/ June 21; ‘Prac- 
tioner/ for June 21. 
