April 13,1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
837 
The Law Relating to Jukies. 
Tuesday , April 9th. 
The Attorney-General gave notice that on Friday 
he would ask leave to introduce a Bill to amend the 
law relating to service on juries. 
Alleged Poisoning ry a Proprietary Medicine. 
An inquest was held on Monday, April 1, before Mr. 
Emsley, the coroner for Leeds, respecting the death of 
Clara Proctor, the daughter of an upholsterer, residing in 
New Wortley. It appeared from the evidence that the 
deceased had been unwell, and had suffered from a bad 
cough. The mother was recommended by a neighbour 
to give the child a patent medicine called “ Kay’s Com¬ 
pound Essence of Linseed.” Accordingly she purchased 
the medicine, and gave the deceased five drops of the 
mixture in warm water. This was on Thursday, March 
28. Soon after taking the dose the child became insensible 
and was seized with convulsions. Mr. Scott, surgeon, 
was called in, and found the little thing suffering from 
what appeared to he poisoning by opium. The usual reme¬ 
dies were applied, but the child died the same day. Mr. 
Scott made inquiries into the matter, and the bottle con¬ 
taining the remainder of the mixture was shown to him. 
He was satisfied that the medicine contained a prepara¬ 
tion of opium, and he now stated his confident belief 
that this poison had caused the child’s death. The label 
upon the bottle stated that for a child twelve months 
old five drops were to he given, hut it did not state what 
■quantity should he given to a child under that age. The 
mother affirmed that as five drops was the least amount 
named on the label, she thought this was the proper 
dose to give ; she declared, however, that had she known 
the medicine contained poison, or was in any way 
dangerous, she would not have used it. 
Mr. Pierson, of Wellington Road, druggist, of whom 
the medicine was obtained, said it was the practice to 
sell these patent medicines as purchased. There was 
nothing, ho admitted, on the label which would put 
people on their guard as to using it. 
In summing up to the jury, the Coroner pointed out 
that, by the provisions of the Pharmacy Act, a bottle of 
any mixture containing poison should be labelled to that 
■effect ; the object of this stipulation obviously being to 
secure caution in use. 
The jury were of opinion that the child had died from 
the effects of the poison, but did not consider that the 
mother was culpable. They thought it very dangerous 
to sell poison without a label; and Mr. Pierson promised 
that he would in future put on such a label, and also call 
the attention of the makers to the matter. 
[*** The following communication has been received 
from Messrs. Kay Bros., objecting to the foregoing re¬ 
port as being inaccurate in certain particulars, princi¬ 
pally as regards the dose given having been more than 
five drops; and, in justice to them, it appears desirable 
that their statement should be published, together with 
the report which has been taken from the Leeds papers. 
—Ed. Piiarm. Journ.] 
Messrs. Kay state that they were not informed of the 
■occurrence until after the inquest, but that after an in¬ 
quiry on the spot by Mr. Hardcastle, chemist, Leeds, 
Mr. T. Kay, etc., they have ascertained— 
That the child was only twelve weeks old, and that it 
was in a delicate state of health, suffering from whoop¬ 
ing-cough, teething, etc. 
That the mother was told by Mr. Webster, a neigh¬ 
bour, that Kay’s Compound Essence of Linseed would do 
it good, and that she herself was in the habit of taking a 
Icaspoonful for a dose. 
That the mother did not purchase the preparation, as 
stated in the report, but that she went to the house of 
another neighbour (Mr. Hardy) with a teaspoon, and 
had it filled. The mother afterwards sent for the bottle 
and, it is assumed, gave more. 
That instead of only giving five drops, which could 
not do any harm, she probably gave it two teaspoonfuls, 
which would be equivalent to giving a delicate adult 
six fluid ounces. 
That this is the opinion of the neighbours, and that the 
foreman of the jury admitted he and the rest of the jury 
held a similar opinion, but, under the circumstances, 
compassionately exculpated the mother, who could 
scarcely give her evidence. 
That the mother did not sec the bottle, and, therefore, 
could not have read the label until after the first tea¬ 
spoonful had been given, and perhaps a second. 
That the mother had previously been giving another 
medicine of a “ pink colour,” prescribed by a neighbour- 
ingehemist; but that this was not mentioned at the inquest. 
That a dose of Kay’s Compound is not poisonous, and 
therefore docs not require to be labelled “ Poison.’ ’ 
That the label upon it has been in use the last eight 
years without complaint. 
That Mr. C. Pierson wishes it to be stated that he 
never promised the Coroner to label any proprietary or 
patent medicine “Poison,” and that the statement to that 
effect in the newspaper paragraph is incorrect. 
Dr. Pereira’s Elements or Materia Medica and 
Therapeutics. Abridged and edited by Professors 
Robert Bentley and Theophilus Redwood. Long¬ 
mans, Green and Co. London, 1872. 
Pereira’s great work on Materia Medica and Therapeu¬ 
tics came into existence about the same period as the 
Pharmaceutical Society, and the course of the various 
editions of the one runs beside that of the other. It is 
not too much to say that without the labours of past and 
present pharmacists, stored up chiefly in this Journal, the 
fruits would not have been ready for gathering ; whilst, 
on the other hand, the work commenced and chiefly carried 
out by the Society’s first professor of Materia Medica has 
reflected no small honour upon the Society with which 
it was so closely connected. We therefore welcome 
with pleasure a new edition of the work with which is 
connected names so well known as those of Bentley and 
Redwood. 
This edition is an abridgement in one volume of the 
original work, and is emphatically a student’s edition, 
whether he be medical or pharmaceutical. The original 
unabridged work is a mine of riches, but all that it con¬ 
tains is not of equal value, therefore its very wealth of 
illustration becomes an embarrassment and a hindrance 
to the student. In this volume that which is most 
useful is carefully selected and arranged, and it may be 
studied throughout as a text book of materia medica; 
and if even now its size is rather alarming, as extending 
to one division only of his studies, the student must 
recollect that his knowledge of chemistry, pharmacy, 
and botany are all being advanced by its perusal, and 
also his acquaintance with therapeutics, which, although 
more important to the medical student, is nevertheless of 
great interest as well as of great value to the pharmaceu¬ 
tist. This edition brings up the information to the 
requirements of the British Pharmacopoeia of 1867. It 
also contains, which its predecessor did not, a selection of 
such other remedies as medical men are in the habit of 
usin". The arrangement is with some modification that 
adopted by the author in the original work, as in a 
scientific work a scientific arrangement has a value 
beyond that which is merely alphabetical, although it 
may produce some apparent incongruities, and the latter 
is more convenient for reference. Organic compounds 
which are not simply extracts from the vegetable king¬ 
dom. but products of decomposition, are now included 
in the first part of the work, which treats of definite che¬ 
mical compounds ; such are hydrocyanic acid, alcohol and 
sherry, which are now to be found under the head carbon. 
