318 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[October 14, 1871. 
Murder and Attempted Suicide ry Poisoning. 
A sad case of murder and attempted suicide of the 
murderer is reported. The Rev. T. Selby Watson, 
hi.A., for twenty-five years head master of the Stock- 
well Proprietary Grammar School, having, according to 
his own account, killed his wife in a fit of fury, appears 
to have determined to poison himself by prussic acid. 
At the first chemist’s shop at which he applied the drug 
-was refused, although ho was well known; but ho was 
afterwards found weak and speechless, apparently suf¬ 
fering from the effects of poison. Medical assistance 
was procured and he recovered. A small bottle con¬ 
taining a very diluted mixture, but in which there were 
clear traces of prussic acid, was found on a chair by his 
bedside. 
On Thursday Mr. Watson was brought before Mr. 
Ellison, at the Lambeth Police Court, charged with wil¬ 
fully murdering his wife. Evidence was given that the 
prisoner was found in an unconscious state by a servant 
in his employ. 
Dr. Rugg said that on Wednesday morning ho was 
called to the prisoner’s house, where he found him un¬ 
conscious, slightly convulsed, breathing heavily and 
with difficulty. His eyes were fixed and turned upwards, 
pulse soft and compressible, and there was a cold, clammy 
perspiration. When ho became conscious, prisoner told 
witness that he had taken prussic acid. Witness de¬ 
scribed the state in which the wife was found, and after 
some further evidence the case was adjourned for a week, 
to allow of a post-mortem examination. 
Poisoning by an Overdose of Morphia. 
An inquest was held on Tuesday last at Southampton 
upon the body of Solomon Norman, aged 56, a cabinet 
maker. 
Dr. Scott said that on the previous Saturday he was 
called to see the deceased, w-hom he found completely 
insensible and breathing only at intervals. The pupils 
of the eyes were strongly contracted. Every effort to 
rouse him was unavailing. Witness believed that de¬ 
ceased had been in the habit of taking morphia or lau¬ 
danum occasionally, and that his health was not very 
good. He had observed a 2-oz. bottle and cup on a 
chair near the bed, and in the bottle was a drop of clear 
liquid, like water, which had a bitter taste. It was 
labelled “Diarrhoea mixture,” in deceased’s own hand¬ 
writing. He had no doubt, from what he observed, 
that the deceased had taken a large dose of morphia. 
The coroner observed that the evidence already given 
left no doubt on his mind that the deceased had died 
from morphia. 
Mr. James, one of the jury, stated that he knew the 
deceased personally. He was very much afflicted, as 
was shown by his features, and occasionally suffered 
great pain. Witness was under the impression that ho 
took morphia or some other narcotic to assuage pain, 
and thought that ho probably took an overdose without 
any other intention than to produce sleep and relieve the 
pain. 
The jury returned a verdict that deceased died from 
taking accidentally an overdose of morphia. 
IJtbitto. 
Die Pflanzenstoffe : in ciiemisciier, thysiologischer 
PlIARMAKOLOGISCHER UND TOXICOLOGISCHER HlNSICHT. 
Fur Aerzte, Apotheker, Chemiker und Pharma- 
kologen bearbeitet. Yon Dr. Aug. IIusemann und 
Dr. Th. Husemann. Berlin. 1871. 
The publication of this work, which has extended 
over a period of eighteen months, being now completed, 
we may briefly sum up the contents and mode of treat¬ 
ment of what will undoubtedly be in future the work of 
reference on all matters connected wuth the products of 
the vegetable kingdom employed in pharmacy. These 
products the MM. Husemann classify as follows:—A. 
Simple combinations : (1) bases on alkaloids ; (2) 
acids, both those of general distribution, and those of 
special occurrence; (3) neutral substances, with the 
same distinction. B. Compound substances: (1) vola¬ 
tile oils; (2) resins; (3) fats. In each section the 
substances are arranged under the Natural Orders te 
which the plants producing them belong; and the 
authors enter, with more orless of detail, into an account 
of their discovery, mode of preparation, properties, com¬ 
position, products of decomposition, behaviour with, 
various reagents, and their physiological and toxico¬ 
logical effects. Of the sections named above, the alka¬ 
loids occupy by far the largest space, the immense im¬ 
portance of these bodies to physicians and pharmaceutists, 
for whose use the work is especially designed, justifying* 
the greater minuteness with which the authors have 
entered into the details respecting them. Very few sub¬ 
stances indeed, of this nature, found in the vegetable 
kingdom, have not been the subject of investigations- 
leading to practical results for medical science. Those 
substances, on the other hand, which, although occurring- 
in the vegetable kingdom, are yet much more frequently 
obtained from animals, or from inorganic materials, are 
not treated with the same detail. This is especially 
the case with the so-called fatty acids, as stearic, and in¬ 
particular with acetic acid, a full account of which would 
not be looked for in a treatise on vegetable drugs. A. 
difficulty was presented by the arrangement described 
above, in the case of those substances which occur in. 
more than one family of plants. The alkaloids are in each 
case described under that order where they are met with, 
most abundantly, or under that in which they were first 
discovered. With acids and neutral substances this plan 
could not be followed, and a certain number, as cellulose,, 
starch, and glucose, are classified as bodies of general- 
distribution, while others are discussed under one par¬ 
ticular order, to which they more properly belong, with 
references from others where they also occur. Inulin, 
for instance, is placed under Composite b (Synantheren), 
the authors considering that the older view of Mulder, 
that this substance is generally distributed, has been dis¬ 
posed of by the more recent investigations of DragendorfF 
and Prantl, and that, wuth the exception of Campanula- 
rapunculoiclcs , it is found nowhere except in the above- 
named family. Inosite again, though discovered by 
Marine in several families, is yet placed under Papi- 
lionacece , from having been first found in Phaseolus vul¬ 
garis. Caproic and capric acids, on the other hand, are- 
placed among the generally distributed substances, 
although at present found in only single families, from, 
the strong probability that further researches wall lead 
to their discovery in many others also. Pelasgonic, 
myristic, and lauric acids are considered as belonging 
properly to the orders of plants from which they respec¬ 
tively take their names. Avenin and conglutin are, 
treated as dependants of legumin, with which they are 
apparently identical. The w r ork being intended as a 
repertorium of facts rather than as an introduction te 
theories, the so-called rational formulae of the substances 
are avoided in the headings, and are only referred te 
when treating of the composition of the more important. 
In by far the majority of instances, nothing but the 
empirical formula is given. The authors consider that 
as the real constitution of such w r ell-known substances^ 
as alcohol, ether, and acetic acid, is still the subject of so. 
much controversy, it is desirable, in a work of this kind, 
not to enter on so debatable a field in the case of the 
far more complicated compounds of which the work 
mainly treats. The sketch w r e have given will show 
that Husemann’s ‘Pflanzenstoffe’ is indispenable to all 
who wish to make themselves acquainted wuth the most 
recent investigations in the regions of materia medica. 
