85G 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 22, 1871. 
minuting more abruptly at the ends. Prof. Maisch also 
made some remarks upon several varieties of Rhubarb 
not met with in the United States markets. These rhu¬ 
barbs are grown in Austria, and called Rheum Emodi and 
Rheum palmat urn. They are cultivated to a considerable 
extent, principally for dispensing to the poor, being- 
very much cheaper in price. A sample exhibited was 
handsome in appearance, and sold at $5 to §7.20, gold, 
for 108 pounds. This variety is so well prepared that 
it is very difficult, except upon close examination, to 
distinguish it from good Chinese rhubarb. 
Mr. Gailaud spoke of the elixir of pepsin, bismuth 
and strychnia, and the difficulty experienced by most 
apothecaries in preventing precipitation, and suggested 
forming a citrate of the quinia and strychnia with excess 
of citric acid, neutralizing the excess of acid with am¬ 
monia ; by this means he obtained a satisfactory prepa¬ 
ration.— Amer. Journ. Rharm. 
MEETINGS EOIt TIIE ENSUING WEEN. 
Monday . Medical Society, at 8 r.M. 
April 24. London Institution, at 4 p.m. —“On Astro¬ 
nomy” (Educational Course). By It. A. 
Proctor, F.R.A.S. 
Tuesday . Royal Institution, at 3 p.m.— ‘-'On the Geo- 
April 25. logy of Devonshire, especially of the New 
Red Sandstone.” By W. Pengelly, F.R.S. 
Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, at 
8.30 p.m. 
Wednesday ...Society of Arts, at 8 p.m. —“Photography in 
April 26. the Printing Press, being a Description of 
the Working of the Heliotype Process.” 
By E. Edwards. 
London Institution, at 12.—Annual Meeting 
of Proprietors. 
Thursday . Royal Society, at 9 p.m. 
April 27. London Institution, at 7.30 p.m. —“Econo¬ 
mic Botany.” By Professor Bentley. 
Friday . Royal Institution, at 8 p.m. 
April 28. Qmkett Club, at 8 p.m. 
VACANCIES AND APPOINTMENTS IN CONNEC¬ 
TION WITH PHARMACY. 
The Editor will be glad to receive early notice of any 
vacancies of pharmaceutical offices connected ivith public 
institutions, and likewise of appointments that are made ,— 
in order that they may be published regularly in the Journal. 
VACANCY. 
The office of Dispenser at the South Staffordshire General 
Hospital. For particulars, see advertisement in last week’s 
J ournal. 
Poisoning of a Child through the Mistake 
of the Doctor. 
.At Counden, near Bishop Auckland, the child of a 
pitman has been accidentally poisoned, in consequence 
of the wrong powders having been given. Directly the 
mistake was discovered the doctor, Mr. M‘Intosh, was 
sent for, who said it was entirely his fault, that he had 
sent the powders for the mother instead of the child. 
The child died on Sunday, March 26th. An inquest 
was opened by the deputy-coroner on the following 
W ednesday, but the inquiry was adjourned for a fort- 
night. South Durham and Cleveland Mercury . 
Poisoning by Cyanide of Potassium. 
An inquest has been held at St. Neots to inquire into 
the death of William Peck, the evidence given at which 
illustrates the carelessness with which poisons are kept j 
by many persons who are in the habit of using them for 
the purposes of their business. 
It appeared that the deceased had been transacting 
some business with Mr. Chambers, a watchmaker of that 
town, and asked for a glass of beer, which was given 
him. Shortly afterwards he was seen by an acquain¬ 
tance leaning against a wall, apparently very ill. He 
Mils taken back to Mr. Chambers’s, and medical assist¬ 
ance obtained, but died about an hour afterwards. 
Mr. W. Chambers said that the deceased having 
asked for a glass of beer, he told his wife to bring the 
bottle of beer from the parlour, and pour out a glass. 
She did so, and the deceased drank it, and remarked that 
it was very nice. He had another bottle in his work¬ 
shop, labelled “gilding solution,” containing cyanide of 
potassium, muriatic acid, ammonia and water. Since 
the accident ho had labelled that bottle “-Poison.” An 
hour or two before Peck came in he sent for some- 
beer, a portion of which he mixed with the gilding-solu¬ 
tion ; the remainder was put into a bottle. He sup¬ 
posed that after he had done gilding he had poured the 
remainder of the gilding solution into the same bottle, 
as it was standing side by side with the gilding-solution 
bottle, but he had no recollection of so doing. He after¬ 
wards took the bottle into the parlour, with the intention 
of drinking the beer it contained at supper, and, if Peck 
had not come in when he did, undoubtedly himself and 
his wife would have drunk it. The bottle containing 
the gilding solution was generally kept, with several 
other bottles containing acids, etc., in a cupboard on the 
cellar stairs. 
Mr. Wright, surgeon, said that he found the deceased 
in a state of great nervous depression, and insensible. 
He placed him in a semi-erect position, and poured some 
solution of ammonia down his throat. A galvanic bat¬ 
tery was also used with some apparent benefit, but death 
ensued soon afterwards. He was sure it had been caused 
by cyanide of potassium. He remarked that in his 
opinion there was enough cyanide of potassium in the 
glass of beer which the deceased drank to poison up¬ 
wards of twenty people. 
The coroner said that from the evidence there could 
be no doubt that the poison was placed in the beer acci¬ 
dentally, but Chambers had been guilty of gross careless¬ 
ness. The bottle of poison, also, was left in such a. 
manner that any person might have drunk from it, not 
even the word poison having been put on it till after the 
fatal occurrence. 
The jury returned a verdict “ That death was caused 
by poison administered accidentally, but under circum¬ 
stances of gross carelessness on the part of Mr. Cham¬ 
bers.” 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
Anaesthetics. By Edward R. Squibb, M.D. Yew York. 
3871. From the Author. 
CuRIOSITES DE l’ALIMENTATION. By Dl 1 . J. L. SOUBEIRAN. 
Paris. 1871. From the Author. 
Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical As¬ 
sociation at the Eighteenth Annual Meeting, held in 
Baltimore in September, 1870; also the Constitution and 
Roll of Members. Philadelphia. 1870. 
The following journals have been received:—The'British 
Medical Journal,’ April 15 ; the‘Medical Times and Gazette,’ 
April 15 ; the ‘ Lancet,’ April 15 ; the ‘ Medical Press and 
Circular,’ April 19 ; ‘Nature,’ April 13 ; the ‘Chemical News,’ 
April 14 ; ‘ J ournal of the Society ot Arts,’ April 12; ‘ Gar¬ 
deners’ Chronicle,’ April 15 ; the ‘ Grocer,’ April 15; ‘ Produce 
Markets Review,’ April 15 ; the ‘ English Mechanic,’ April 14 
the ‘American Journal of Pharmacy’ for April; the ‘Chicago 
Pharmacist’ for March; ; the : New Y r ork Druggists’ Circu¬ 
lar’ for April; the ‘New York Medical Record,’ April 1 
i the ‘ North China Daily News,’ February 18. 
