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THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [February 3,1672. 
(2) that in the production of wine it is the juice of the 
fruit which, in contact with the air, produces the grains ! 
of yeast. 
ROYAL INSTITUTION. 
On Friday evening, January 14th, a lecture on “ The 
New Metal Indium,” was delivered by Professor (Id¬ 
ling, at the London Institution. He stated that pre¬ 
vious to Lavoisier’s time it was not known that terres¬ 
trial matter could he resolved into certain distinct ele- I 
mentary substances, neither of which was capable of | 
being converted into one of the others. Twenty-four of 
these elements were known to chemists before the dis¬ 
covery of hydrogen, and thirty-four more have been 
added to the list at various intervals since that time. 
Indium, the last discovered, was found by Reich and 
Richter in the year 1863, and as for the last fifty there 
has, on the average, been one fresh element noticed every 
four years, more than the usual time has elapsed since 
the last discovery. Probably the list of elementary sub- | 
stances is capable of great extension, but it is not likely ‘ 
that any very commonly occurring ones remain, the 
latest found being of extreme rarity, and, although some¬ 
times widely distributed, to be detected only in very 
small quantities. 
Indium was discovered by Reich and Richter in some 
zinc blend, or blackjack, from the Harz mountains. Its 
spectrum contains two lines only, of a bright indigo 
colour, one situated in the blue and the other in the 
indigo portion of the spectrum. The metal is white, 
but tarnishes rapidly on exposure to air, when it exactly 
resembles tarnished lead, but differs in the peculiarity 
that the film of tarnish may easily be rubbed off with a 
cloth. Indium is very compact and soft, and is easily 
pressed into wire. Its weight is nearly that of tin, the 
sp. gr. of tin being 7*3, indiuni 7'4, and lead 11*9. It is 
very fusible, and may be melted in hot spermaceti at 
176° C.; tin melts at 228° C., and cadmium 278° C. Its 
combining ratio is 38, and its atomic weight 38. 
parliamentary anir gTiito fromMitgs. 
Mysterious Case op Poisoning. 
An inquiry is being held at North Cray into the cir¬ 
cumstances attending the death of Emma Smith, aged 
16, who died after a day or two’s illness under suspicious 
circumstances, resulting in the stomach being forwarded 
for analysis to Professor Rodgers. That gentleman 
stated that he found the stomach intensely inflamed, the 
appearances quite warranting the suspicions of Dr. All- 
frev, who made the post-mortem examination in the first 
place, and came to the conclusion that some irritant poi¬ 
son had been administered. The contents of the stomach 
showed indications of a poison, possessing the properties 
of white hellebore. He could not determine in what 
form the poison was taken. Hellebore was sold in the 
form of a powder, and was used by veterinary surgeons. 
It was a powerful irritant, and would cause vomiting and 
great pain. It took effect very quickly, and the bodies 
of those dying from it would be exceedingly stiff. Half 
a grain to three-quarters Avas sufficient to cause death. 
Veratria was the active principle of hellebore, veratria 
being to hellebore what quinine was to Peruvian bark. 
"White hellebore could be obtained of herbalists and \ T era- 
tria of chemists. There would be no difficulty in getting 
as much hellebore of herbalists as would kill; in fact 
any quantity could be procured. White hellebore was 
used to poison birds, and might be taken in ignorance to 
procure abortion. 
The Coroner said that hellebore was sometimes mis¬ 
taken for wild celery, and he had held an inquest at 
W r oolwich in which thirteen or fourteen persons had 
made a mistake in that way in Plumstead marshes. De¬ 
ceased’s mother had a garden, but she did not know that 
there -was any white hellebore in it. He advised the- 
police to make diligent inquiry amongst the chemists, 
and herbalists within a moderate range, and to ascertain 
AVhether white hellebore grew in the locality. The in¬ 
quiry was then adjourned for a fortnight .—Daily News. 
The Alleged Poisoning of a Medical Officer. 
On Thursday, January 25th, Hannah Steel was 
brought up at the Manchester City Police Court, charged 
on remand with having caused the death, by poison, of 
Mr. Andrew Harris, late resident senior surgeon at the- 
Manchester Workhouse. 
Professor F. Crace Calvert said that since the pre- 
vious Thursday he had examined various matters placed 
in his hands by Inspector Henderson, so far. as he 
deemed it advisable. The result of his analysis was, 
that in the blood from the heart of the deceased he dis¬ 
tinctly discovered atropia. In the contents of the 
stomach he also found the poison. There was poison in 
milk which Avas left in the cream jug. He did not find 
atropia in the tea, or in the tea leaA*es. In the deceased’s, 
wine poison was discernible. The first vomit of Mar¬ 
garet Lythgoe contained atropia, and the second did 
also. Clarke’s vomit, too, shoAvcd a distinct quantity. 
Mr. Cobbett, in a speech on behalf of the prisoner, 
reviewed the evidence which had been given, not one 
particle of which, he said, in any way showed that’she 
was guilty. With respect to the threat she was said to 
have used, to the effect “ that before the week was out 
she would gWe Mr. Harris plenty of reporting,” that 
only meant that in future—taking into consideration 
that she had been reported by him, haA'ing failed to- 
report a certain case—she Avould be careful to report 
! everything at once without any care for his comfort and 
convenience. He submitted that no intelligent jury 
would entertain such evidence as had been adduced, and 
expected the magistrates to dismiss the case. 
In reply to the charge, the prisoner sail she knew 
nothing of the affair until her husband told her of it 
after 1 o’clock. The prisoner was committed for trial at 
the assizes. 
Unqualified Medical Practitioners. 
Yesterday (January 31st) Mr. Humphreys .held an 
inquiry at the ‘ Red Cow,’ Mile End Road, into the 
circumstances under which Edward DaA'is, aged one 
year, came by his death. 
Elizabeth Davis, of 20, BelleWue Terrace, Mile End, 
said, “The deceased was my son. He had been ailing 
for some time, and I called in a chemist to attend to 
him, and he has been attending and prescribing for some 
time past, charging Q>d. a Ausit. I always thought he 
was a regularly qualified doctor, and he never told me 
otherwise. The deceased gradually got worse, and at 
last was so bad that I became dissatisfied, and on Friday 
eA r ening called in Dr. Riley, but deceased died the next 
morning.” 
Dr. Riley said, “ I was called to see the deceased on 
Friday evening, and found him suffering from congestion 
of the lungs. He died the next day, having been too 
far gone when I saw him for me to render him any 
assistance. If I had had the case a few days before I 
dare say he might have suTAUved, as he was a healthy,, 
well-nourished child.” 
The coroner, addressing the jury, said, “Unfortu¬ 
nately this is a sample of many inquests which I have 
to hold, for chemists openly defy the law, thereby en¬ 
dangering the life of the patient. There is no earthly 
reason why this child should not haA*e groAvn up to man¬ 
hood. Some actiA r e steps ought at once to be taken to 
abate this evil, and I sincerely trust that the press will 
help to expose it.” 
The jury returned a A r erdict of “Death from natural 
causes,” and expressed their hearty concurrence in the 
opinions expressed by the coroner. —Morning Advertiser.. 
