August 13, 1870.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
137 
prliiinwnteg anlr fiito |n)Xfc!)inp. 
INDIAN DRUGS. 
In the course of his speech upon introducing the Indian 
budget to the House of Commons last week, Mr. Grant 
Duff said that the revenue from opium had fallen off 
largely, hut that, on the other hand, there had been an 
increase in the excise from spirits, drugs, etc., known as 
the Abkari revenue. Very frequent inquiries about the 
forest service were made at the India Office. The ex¬ 
periment they had been making of selecting young men 
by a competitive examination, and then giving them a 
thorough training in the great forest schools at Hanover 
and Nancy, bade fair to produce excellent results, and to 
give, them a real forest school in India. That w’as 
all the more important because, although the natural 
products were not yet made anything like so available 
to mankind as they ought to be, the increased tendencies 
of all art and science in our times to produce specialities 
and encourage specialists were depriving them, to a great 
extent, of the assistance they used to receive in that field 
from various classes of their officers, and above all from 
their medical men. The examinations for the special 
Forest Service showed increasingly careful preparation. 
The accounts they received of the young men studying 
on the Continent were good, while those who were in 
India were thought likely to turn out very useful officers. 
Although the receipts had largely increased, there had 
also been a proportionate increase in the expense, but in 
a new service that was only what might be expected, and 
it might go on increasing for some time without raising 
any presumption against the ultimate pecuniary results 
of the plan. In fact, much more than mere pecuniary 
results were at stake: climatic changes of a very dan¬ 
gerous kind were threatening, or in some instances had 
actually occurred, and the evils that had to be met could 
only be checked by the direct action of the Central Go¬ 
vernment. The excellent results of the cinchona culti¬ 
vation had been laid before the House. Peru and Ecua¬ 
dor had given increased facilities for combating fever, 
one of the worst enemies of man in India; they had 
already two millions and a half of cinchona plants grow¬ 
ing there. It was now the turn of Brazil to enable them 
to combat acute dysentery, a hardly less formidable foe. 
Measures had been taken to send out from Kew, from 
Edinburgh, and also directly from Brazil, the ipecacu¬ 
anha, which is now considered almost a specific against 
that terrible malady. Lately the Government of India 
had been devoting some attention to the Rhea or China 
grass, an abundant Indian product, which, if a machine 
could be obtained that would detach the fibre from the 
stalk in an easy and satisfactory manner, would become 
of great economic importance ; rewards to the amount 
of £5000 had been offered by the Indian authorities for 
such a machine. The opening of the Suez> canal seemed 
likely to exercise a favourable influence on the tea culti¬ 
vation of Northern India. Turning to another very im¬ 
portant Indian product, it was gratifying to observe that 
India last year sent nearly as much cotton to our shores 
as the United States and Brazil combined. There w T as 
satisfactory evidence that the cultivation of the poppy 
was spreading very extensively through China, although 
the old vigorous edicts against it remained unrepealed; 
but there was not satisfactory evidence as to how far that 
extended cultivation was the result of the withdrawal of 
much of the pressure that prevented the Chinaman from 
indulging in his favourite luxury, and of a consequent 
increase of consumption; or whether it implied that the 
Chinese opium was now used by many who formerly 
used the Indian opium. For anything yet known, Indian 
opium might still find a very profitable market in China. 
The estimated revenue from opium in 1870-1 was under 
seven millions, whereas in 1867-8 a smaller opium ex¬ 
penditure produced an opium revenue of nearly nine 
millions. 
Mr. Eastwick said that one of the most prominent 
reasons for retrenchment was the precariousness of the 
opium trade. Sir Richard Temple, in his statements, 
merely spoke of the extension of opium cultivation in 
China, and entirely overlooked the exportation of opium 
from Persia. A few years ago that country did not ex¬ 
port any opium; but last year it exported four thousand 
chests, worth about half a million sterling. It had been 
analysed and found to be nearly equal to the opium of 
India, whilst it had the further recommendation of pay¬ 
ing no duty, so that the profit was enormous. He should 
not be surprised if that branch of the trade doubled or 
quadrupled in a year. 
AN ACT TO REGULATE THE SALE OF POISONS 
IN IRELAND. 
[14 th July , 1870.] 
Whereas it is expedient for the safety of the public 
that due provision should be made to regulate the sale of 
poisons in Ireland: 
Be it enacted by the Queen’s most excellent Majesty, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Lords 
Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present 
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same 
as follows: 
1. The several articles mentioned in the Schedule A. 
to this Act annexed shall be deemed to be poisons within 
the meaning of this Act; and the King and Queen’s 
College of Physicians in Ireland may from time to tune, 
by resolution, declare that any article other than those 
mentioned in the said schedule and in such resolution 
named ought to be deemed a poison within the meaning 
of this Act; and thereupon the said College shall submit 
the said resolution for the approval of her Majesty’s 
Privy Council in Ireland, and if such approval shall be 
given, then such resolution and approval shall be adver¬ 
tised in the ‘Dublin Gazette;’ and on the expiration of 
one month from such advertisement the article named in 
such resolution shall be deemed to be a poison within the 
meaning of this Act. 
2. It shall be unlawful to sell any poison, either by 
wholesale or by retail, unless the box, bottle, vessel, 
wrapper, or cover in which such poison is contained be 
distinctly labelled with the name of the article, and the 
word “poison,” and with the name and address of the 
seller of the poison ; and it shall be unlawful to sell any 
of the poisons which are named in the first part of Sche¬ 
dule A. to this Act annexed, or which may hereafter be 
added thereto imder section one of this Act, to any person 
unknown to the seller, unless such person is introduced 
by some person known to the seller; and on every sale 
of any such article the seller shall, before delivery, make 
or cause to be made an entry in a book to be kept for that 
purpose, stating in the form set forth in the Schedule B. 
to this Act annexed, the date of the sale, the name and 
address of the purchaser, the name and quantity of the 
article sold, and the purpose for which it is stated by the 
purchaser to be required, to which entry the signature 
of the purchaser and of the person (if any) who intro¬ 
duced him shall be affixed; and any person selling poison 
otherwise than is herein provided shall be liable to a 
penalty not exceeding five pounds for the first offence, 
and to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds for the second 
or any subsequent offence; and for the purposes of this 
section the person on whose behalf any sale is made by 
any apprentice or servant shall be deemed to be the seller; 
but the provisions of this section which are solely appli¬ 
cable to poisons in the first part of the Schedule A. to 
this Act annexed, or which require that the label shall 
contain the name and address of the seller, shall not 
apply to articles to be exported from Ireland by whole¬ 
sale dealers, nor to sales by wholesale to retail dealers in 
the ordinary course of wholesale dealing, nor shall any 
of the provisions of this section apply to any medicine 
