156 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[August 20, 1870. 
resin; "but when cool and kept for some time, even in 
an air-tight bottle, it gets sticky and soft. While hot 
and soft it can he moulded into any shape like wax or 
gutta-percha, and can he drawn into silk-like fibres, 
which, on cooling, become soft and glutinous. The 
freshly-dried salt can he easily powdered, a property not 
observed in other compounds of this acid. The powder, 
if inhaled through the nose, excites sneezing; it readily 
attracts moisture when cool: sulphuric acid or sulphu¬ 
retted hydrogen removes the lead, and leaves the acid 
free. Its taste is as hitter as that of the free acid. It is 
freely soluble in water, and is uncrystallizable. 
{To be continued.) 
fwlirawntos imir fitto fromMitp. 
ALLEGED POISONING OF SHEEP BY DIP¬ 
PING COMPOSITION—ACTION AGAINST A 
CHEMIST. 
SUFFOLK SUMMER ASSIZES, BURY ST. EDMUNDS. 
Nisi Purus Court, 12 th August , 1870. 
Smith v. Barker. 
Mr. O’Malley, Q.C., and Mr. Mayd, appeared for the 
plaintiff; Mr. Bulwer, with whom was Mr. Naylor, for 
the defendant. 
It appeared from the evidence given in this case that 
the arsenical solution was sold with printed instructions, 
in which it was stated to he “ poisonthat every gallon 
of the composition was to be mixed with forty gallons of 
water, and that this quantity was sufficient for two scores 
of sheep. Further directions were also given to squeeze 
out the liquor from the wool of the sheep after they had 
been dipped. The plaintiff’s men appear, however, to 
have used four gallons and five quarts of the composition 
for five score sheep, and to have hurried the operation of 
dipping, so that the liquor was not sufficiently squeezed 
out of the sheep’s wool. Consequently arsenic was ab¬ 
sorbed and several of the sheep died. Several witnesses 
gave evidence that the composition could be used with¬ 
out danger if properly diluted and if the instructions 
were carried out; while others testified to having used it 
for hundreds of sheep without any injury to them. 
The declaration alleged that the defendant did not use 
due care and skill as a chemist in preparing a certain 
composition to destroy lice in sheep, which composition 
was to be used according to certain directions, that the 
plaintiff used this composition with due care; neverthe¬ 
less the solution was so badly compounded that a number 
of his sheep were killed and others injured. 
The judge, in summing up the case, said the plaintiff 
complained that the defendant had not used clue and 
proper care and skill as a chemist, in preparing the com¬ 
position which was to he used according to certain direc¬ 
tions delivered by the defendant to the plaintiff at the 
time of selling. This was the real question which the 
jury had to try.. The counsel for the plaintiff was in 
error m supposing it was the business of the defendant 
to satisfy them that the plaintiff was negligent. The 
onus or burden of proof was the other way, because the 
plaintiff complained defendant did not use due and pro¬ 
per skill, and that his mixture could not be used with 
reasonable safety, according to the directions. Certainly 
in these instructions there was the most distinct notice 
that could possibly he given in writing and print as 
to the poisonous nature of this solution, because there 
were the words “Poison” “Poison.” Then again no¬ 
thing could he more precise than the directions given as 
to the use of this dangerous mixture, and he presumed 
the jury would be of opinion that it behoved every one 
who used it to he careful about it. On the present occa¬ 
sion there was no doubt that the death of Mr. Smith’s 
sheep was caused by the absorption of the liquid into 
the system of the sheep. They might take it as a fact 
that the plaintiff had proved the death of his sheep was 
occasioned by absorption into the system of this chemical 
solution. How was that caused ? Was it caused by the 
solution itself being defectively prepared? If it was 
then the defendant was liable, if it was not the defendant 
could not he liable. That the solution as prepared by 
Mr. Barker, if the directions were followed, was a harm¬ 
less one, there seemed to he no doubt. The defendant 
said that for nineteen years he had been in the habit of 
preparing the solution, and that it had been very exten¬ 
sively used on thousands and thousands of sheep. Was 
the negligence or want of care on the part of the defen¬ 
dant, or on the part of the plaintiff ? One question was 
important, namely, how did the 4^ gallon bottle, toge¬ 
ther with the quart added to it from the first bottle be¬ 
come so nearly exhausted with the dipping of 100 sheep ? 
If they were satisfied that the defendant did not use pro¬ 
per care in making the preparation, and that the death 
of the sheep was occasioned thereby, the plaintiff would 
be entitled to their verdict; if on the other hand they 
were of opinion that the death of the sheep was not 
caused by the want of proper care and skill on the part 
of the defendant, then the defendant would be entitled 
to a verdict in his favour. 
The jury then consulted for about twenty minutes, 
and without leaving the box returned a verdict for the 
defendant. 
CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT. 
August 15. 
George Gorfenkle, chemist, pleaded “ Guilty” to ob¬ 
taining, by false pretences, goods of considerable value 
from Messrs. Maw and Son, instrument makers, Alders- 
gate Street, and Messrs. Huxley and Co., cigar merchants, 
Whitechapel Road. He was sentenced to twelve months’ 
imprisonment. 
This report is taken from the ( Times ’ of the 16th inst. 
There is no such name on the Register of Chemists and Drug¬ 
gists as that of George Gorfenkle.—E d. Ph. J.] 
A NEW ANTIPERIODIC. 
Dr. Lorinser, of Vienna, gives the results of a number 
of observations made regarding the effect of a new re¬ 
medy for intermittent fever. The remedy is the tincture 
of the leaves of the Eucalyptus globulus , a plant of the 
natural order Myrtacece. In 1869, Dr. Lorinser made 
some experiments, the results of which he published; 
but he was brought to a standstill by the want of a sup¬ 
ply of the medicine. The plant has since been cultivated 
by Herr Lamatsch, an apothecary ; and a sufficient quan¬ 
tity of tincture has been made from the leaves to supply 
a number of medical men in the districts of the Theiss 
and Danube, and in the Banat. The records of fifty- 
three cases of intermittent fever in which the eucalyptus 
was administered have been communicated to Dr. Lo¬ 
rinser ; and he gives very brief outlines of each, with 
the following summary of the results obtained. Of the 
fifty-three patients, forty-three were completely cured; 
in five, there was relapse in consequence of a failure of 
the supply of the tincture of eucalyptus, and quinine had 
to be employed; two of the cases were not true ague; in 
one case, neither the eucalyptus nor quinine cured; in 
one, the medicine (as well as other remedies) was vomited; 
and in one, the patient would not allow the treatment to 
be continued. In eleven of the cases, quinine had been 
used without effect; and nine of these were cured by the 
eucalyptus. There was return of the fever in ten cases, 
at intervals varying from one to four weeks; in five of 
these quinine had to be used, in consequence of there 
being no tincture of eucalyptus, and in the other five 
the eucalyptus was successfully employed. The tincture 
is said to be easily made, and to have a pleasant aromatic 
taste; it acts favourably on the digestive organs. Dr. 
