October 2S, 1871.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
355 
prtotrtsrn Sato DramMitjjs. 
Cases of Poisoning by Syrup of Poppies. 
An inquest was held on Tuesday afternoon, at the 
* Golden Lion ’ Inn, St. Nicholas, Carlisle, before Mr. 
Carrick, coroner for East Cumberland, on the body of 
zl child eighteen weeks old, the son of John Bell, pat¬ 
tern maker, of Grey Street, and Mary Bell, his wife. 
'The first witness called was— 
Mary Bell, mother of the deceased, who stated that 
the child had been ill from its birth. It had been 
troubled with wind. Dr. Carljde had attended it at one 
time and it recovered. She got it vaccinated, and it 
Became worse. Last Sunday, about six o’clock in the 
•evening, she gave it a teaspoonful of syrup of poppies. 
The child continued to be restless, but she took it to 
Bed about eleven o’clock, when it seemed to be sleeping 
•as usual. About half-past two o’clock it began to be 
.•sick, and they sent for Dr. Carlyle, who came and saw 
the child, which lived till eight o’clock on Monday 
.morning, when it died. She got the syrup of poppies 
(two-pennyworth) from Mr. Parker, druggist. It was 
not labelled poison. She had also given the child a tea- 
.spoonful of gin and water and the medicine which Dr. 
Carlyle had previously prescribed for it. 
Dr. Carlyle said he attended the child about three 
months ago. It was a delicate child. On Monday 
morning he had been called in at four o’clock. He saw 
dhat it had had something, and he made inquiry, but 
was told it had got nothing but what he had ordered 
previously. The child was stupefied, and to all appear- 
<ance comatose. They then told him that they had given 
it a teaspoonful of poppies at six on the previous even¬ 
ing. He told them the child was dying. Syrup of 
poppies is very uncertain in its effects. The regular 
dose for a child of twelve months is from ten to twelve 
•drops. A teaspoon would hold about sixty drops. Ono 
•teaspoonful would be likely to be a fatal dose for a child 
like that. Quite sufficient; half the quantity had been 
known to kill a child. 
A Juror: But you don’t know the properties ? You 
.say it varies. 
Witness: It is an uncertain thing, and, therefore, not 
to be trifled with. Such a dose had been fatal in this 
..case. 
Mr. Edward Parker, druggist, said he remembered 
.selling some syrup of poppies to a woman who brought 
the bottle now produced, on Friday or Saturday evening. 
(The bottle produced was an ordinary pint castor-oil 
Bottle having affixed to it a blank label bearing Mr. 
Parker’s name and address, and having written in ink on 
the blank space “Syrup of poppies.”) The woman did 
not tell him for what purpose it was. wanted. She did 
not say anything about it being for a child eighteen 
weeks old. She asked for two-pennyworth of syrup of 
poppies and made no remark whatever. He weighed 
But an ounce into the bottle. Very little had since been 
taken out of it—perhaps a teaspoonful. The label was 
.already upon the bottle when it was brought to him, 
having apparently been used for the same purpose 
•Before. The -writing upon the label was in his own 
Bandwriting. A teaspoonful is a dose, and would con¬ 
tain sixty drops. 
The Coroner: Do you mean to say you would give a 
teaspoonful to a child eighteen weeks old ? 
Witness: I should scarcely give it a teaspoonful if it 
-was eighteen weeks. I should not recommend more 
than half a teaspoonful for a child eighteen weeks old. 
In selling medicines of this kind is it part of your 
'duty to explain to the person buying it what is a proper 
dose F—Yes, I generally do. 
Is it your duty ?—Yes. Well, I am not sure it is our 
duty if we are not asked the question, but if we recom¬ 
mend an article it is our duty. 
Assuming this woman came and said she wanted some 
syrup of poppies without telling you what it was for, is 
it your duty to explain to her the strength of it and the 
quantity that could be properly taken ?—I can scarcely 
say that. As the label had been previously on, I should 
assume from that she was quite aware how to administer 
it. W ith regard to the strength of it, I have given a 
teaspoonful to one of my own children when only a 
month old, without any bad results, under a doctor’s 
prescription. 
Examination continued: It is made of one uniform 
strength. He made it himself. He did not think the 
strength varied. Generally a quantity of poppy heads 
were put together, so that the strength must be uniform. 
Dr. Carlyle, on being referred to again, stated that he 
had the authority of Nelaton, Christison, Pereira and 
others for saying that for children from ten to twelve 
months the dose was from ten to twenty drops, and 
sometimes thirty drops; and they went up to half an 
ounce, which was four teasponfuls, for adults; but the 
whole of these authorities said it was a very uncertain 
preparation indeed. 
Mr. Parker: Not if it is made according to the Phar¬ 
macopoeia. 
Dr. Carlyle : That depends whether the heads are 
ripe or not. Green heads contain more opium. The 
milky juice is extracted from the poppy heads when 
they are green and not when they are ripe. 
The foreman of the jury said he thought it was de¬ 
sirable that the old woman who had gone for the medi¬ 
cine to Mr. Parker’s should be called, as Mr. Parker 
and Dr. Carlyle differed as to the quantity to be given. 
The Coroner: With all due deference to Mr. Parker, 
I think Dr. Carlyle gives and supports his statement 
with much more authority than Mr. Parker. 
Mr. Parker said syrup of poppies was one of those 
things which he never recommended. 
Dr. Carlyle mentioned a case which had recently come 
under his notice in the country not far from Carlisle, 
w-here he had seen a child under the influence of a narcotic- 
showing the appearance which this child presented. He 
was not attending the child at the time, but attending 
the mother. The people in the house acknowledged 
that, as the child was restless and they could not keep 
it quiet, they gave it something. That showed what 
people would do. They could not be bothered with the 
child at night when the mother was ill, so they gave it 
narcotic. 
The Coroner said that there was no doubt that the 
law required persons dealing in these drugs to exercise 
certain caution. 
The foreman inquired whether such a drug should 
not be labelled poison. 
Mr. Parker replied that after this he should label it so. 
Sarah Graham, mother of the mother of the child, 
with whom she lived, having been sent for, stated that 
she w r ent to Mr. Parker’s and asked for some syrup of 
poppies one day last w*eek, taking a bottle with her. 
She asked for Mr. Parker, and asked him if it was a 
safe thing to give syrup of poppies to a child that was 
griped, having wind on the stomach, and crying much, 
and he said it was, in small quantities. She asked him 
if it required to have a little mixture of water. Ho 
said No, it was a syrup of itself and did not require any. 
She then said to Mr. Parker, “ How much might a 
small quantity be ?” He said, “A very small teaspoon¬ 
ful if the child is very bad.” Mr. Parker gave witness 
two-pennyworth and put it in the bottle. She told 
him that the child was four months old. She could not 
say whether the label was upon the bottle at the time. 
She had never taken the bottle before. She was quite 
certain she had the conversation with Air. Parker. She 
turned back from the door after she got the medicine, 
and that w r as what passed between them. The child 
got a small teaspoonful. Before that it had had a tea¬ 
spoonful of gin and a teaspoonful of warm water. 
