October 29, 1W0.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
317 
Poisoning by Yew Berries. —A case of poison¬ 
ing by yew berries (Taxus baccata) is reported in the 
Medical Times and Gazette. In the afternoon of the 24th 
of September a patient was found dead in the ward of 
the Sussex County Asylum. In the morning he had 
«eaten a hearty lunch and returned to work; at dinner 
he complained of pain in the epigastrium, and vomited 
part of his food. As he was a very greedy man, eating 
all he could get hold of, this was not considered remark¬ 
able. At five o’clock, when the attendant went to rouse 
him to bathe, he was sitting in a chair quite dead. Sus¬ 
picion of poison was awakened by the presence of yew 
berries in a motion passed into his clothes. Upon in- 
• quiry it. was found that he had eaten some about ten 
o’clock. Upon a post-mortem examination berries were 
found in the intestines. The medical gentleman who 
reports the case asserts that poisoning by yew berries is 
a very rare occurrence, many persons being able to eat 
dhcm with impunity. He suggests that it would be in¬ 
teresting to know to what extent these berries are really 
poisonous, and, if the narcotico-acrid properties reside 
solely in the stones, whether the active principles might 
jsiot be separated and employed in medicine in the place 
tof.more expensive drugs. 
The Suffolk Chronicle of Tuesday last reports what 
mmy punve to be another case of poisoning by yew berries, 
which Tias occurred at Sudbury. Five children, after 
playing in the cemetery with some berries, went home 
.ill, complaining of headache and sickness. One of them, 
five years old, died the next day. Some berries were 
found, which proved to belong to the wild Guelder-rose. 
The only other berries in the cemetery were those of the 
yew. The children all deny having eaten any; but one 
vof them says that the deceased was playing with a berry, 
which she squeezed, causing the juice to squirt into her 
eye and mouth, and making her cry because of the 
smart. No seeds were detected in the excreta. The in¬ 
quest was adjourned, that a post-mortem examination 
misdit be made, 
Death through an Overdose of Chlorodyne.-*-* 
-An inquest was held in Liverpool, on Tuesday last, upon 
the body of Mr. Glover, a cotton-broker. Evidence was 
given that on the previous Thursday the deceased pur¬ 
chased five drams of chlorodyne from Mr. Buxton, che¬ 
mist, 79, Kensington. The bottle containing it was la¬ 
belled, and the dose was stated on the label to be ten 
drops. He told the chemist he was in the habit of taking 
half a spoonful. He afterwards purchased half an ounce 
of laudanum and two ounces of castor oil from another 
chemist. The next morning the servant, finding that 
she could not rouse him, sent for medical assistance. Dr. 
Prichard and Dr. Parker attended, but except for a few 
minutes, when he said that he did not intend to take so 
much, the patient did not recover consciousness, and he 
■died the same evening. The laudanum and castor oil he 
had purchased were not found. Only about one dram 
and a half of the chlorodyne remained. The jury re¬ 
turned an open verdict, expressing an opinion that the 
deceased had taken an overdose of chlorodyne.— Liver¬ 
pool Mercury. 
Poisoning by Croton Oil. —At Sydney, a child 
thirteen months old, has been poisoned by a liniment 
(Containing 1 drachm of croton oil to 15 of soap liniment. 
It is estimated that the dose was two minims and a half, 
which proved fatal in six horns. The child’s father, 
who administered it, could neither read nor write.— 
Medical Times and Gazette. 
Poisoning by Oil of Vitriol. —On Saturday, Oc¬ 
tober 1, an inquiry was instituted relative to the death 
►of Mr. Robert Chambers, an oilman, residing in Hunter 
Street, Brunswick Square. Evidence was given that 
the deceased was a highly nervous man, and had lately 
tbeen under the delusion that he was liable to be hanged 
ifor an accident which had happened in his shop. On 
ihe] previous Thursday he drew off a quantity of oil 
of vitriol from a carboy in the shop, and, after saying 
that the police should not hang him, drank about a" giil 
of it. The jury returned a verdict of “ Suicide while in 
an unsound state of mind.” 
Death from Chloroform in Japan. —Considerable 
sensation has been created at Yokohama in consequence 
of a death following the administration of chloroform. 
After a protracted inquiry a coroner’s jury returned a 
verdict of “ Death from the effect of chloroform adminis¬ 
tered without proper degree of care.” The surgeon 
who administered the chloroform (Dr. Dalliston) has, in 
consequence, been committed for trial, but liberated on 
bail in the sum of 5000 dollars. Public attention in 
Japan and China has been called to this case by Dr. 
Edward Henderson, Municipal Medical Officer and 
Health Officer at Shanghai, who criticizes the various 
statements made by the witnesses in a masterly manner. 
—Medical Times and Gazette. 
Statue to the late Professor Graham, F.R.S.— 
It has been decided by the friends and admirers of the 
late Professor Graham to erect a statue of him at Glas¬ 
gow. Leave has been asked and obtained from the Town 
Council for placing it at the south-east comer of George 
Square. The sculptor is Mr. William Brodie, of Edin¬ 
burgh. The pedestal will be of Aberdeen granite, and 
the figure of bronze, corresponding with the figure of 
Watt at the south-west corner. 
New Sulphur Deposit. —A new source of supply of 
sulphur is announced in the New York Times. It is in 
the island of Saba, one of the Dutch West Indies, situated 
about 110 miles south-east from St. Thomas and 40 miles 
south-west from St. Martha. The island is of volcanic 
oi'igin, about 11 miles in circumference, and at its highest 
point about 2800 feet above the sea-level. Though a 
Dutch possession, the language spoken by its 2000 in¬ 
habitants is chiefly English. The sulphur deposit was 
discovered by a person from New York, who, noticing 
indications of sulphur-ore, quarried, with the help of the 
natives, two sloop loads, which he took to New York, 
and submitted for analysis. The report of the chemists 
was to the e&et that YbUe the ^ Sicily ores yield only 
about 30 per cent, of brimstone lot' the ore consumed^ 
the Saba ore yields an average of over 60 per cent. Add¬ 
ing to this the fact that the island is only about 1500 
miles from New York, it will be seen that this is an im¬ 
portant discovery, and it will not be wondered at that 
steps have been taken to secure leases of the best tracts 
on the island. 
Scarlet Fever. —Dr. Renfrew, of Glasgow, recom¬ 
mends that in scarlet fever a medicine consisting of a 
mixture of tincture of steel and chlorate of potash. 
This mixture, he says, contains chlorine, which destroys 
the poison; muriatic acid, which supplies an acid wanted 
in the blood; iron, to improve the impaired red disks 
and to assist in forming new ones; and chlorate of 
potash to supply oxygen, to oxidize the disintegrated 
matters floating in the blood. 
Permanganate of Potash. —Dr. H. S. Thorne, of 
Chicago, reports* that he has treated oxaluria and dys¬ 
pepsia successfully with grain-doses of permanganate of 
potash made with bread into pills, three of which were 
to be taken daily for ten days. On examination of the 
urine after a few days not a crystal of oxalate of lime 
could be seen. Dr. Rose, of Michigan University, had 
previously prescribed it in the following form :— 
R. Permanganate of Potash gr. viij 
Water ^ij. 
M. sig. One teaspoonful to be given three times a 
day. 
It should not be given except on an empty stomach, 
as it is decomposed in contact with organic matter, yield¬ 
ing its oxygen to any substance, simple or compound, 
that will receive it.— Drugg ists' Circular. _ 
* Michigan University Medical Journal. 
