May 25,1872.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
9G1 
Poisoning by Laudanum. 
A case of poisoning’ was investigated by a coroner’s 
jury at Kidderminster on Saturday, May 11th. A Mrs. 
Beanies, the wife of a carpet weaver, had been in the 
habit of giving her child soothing syrup, and in a bottle 
•similar to the one containing the syrup she had some 
laudanum. Intending to give the child some soothing 
syrup on the AVednesday, she accidentally took up the 
wrong bottle and gave it a dose of laudanum. The 
mistake was discovered an hour or two later and medical 
assistance obtained, but the child died. The jury re¬ 
turned a verdict that the poison was accidentally ad¬ 
ministered.— Times. 
Poisoning by Carbolic Acid. 
On Saturday, May 11th, an inquest was held at Alary - 
port, touching the death of a carman, named Adams. It 
was shown that on the previous Thursday the deceased 
had been engaged in removing some furniture, and that 
while the cart was unloading ho asked for some drink, 
and was told to go into the kitchen and help himself from 
a bottle of beer he would find there. It is supposed that 
in mistake deceased drank from a bottle containing car¬ 
bolic acid; for, on returning, he complained that the beer 
was bad stuff. He soon became very unwell, and died 
the following day. AVliile still sensible, he stated that 
he drank the poison out of the supposed beer bottle. 
The jury returned a verdict of accidental death from 
drinking carbolic acid .—Carlisle Journal. 
patent medicine. There were four dozen bottles of ben¬ 
zine in the case, and on each of them that were labelled 
the benzine was described as being inflammable at 100 
degrees of Fahrenheit. The ship Otago was bound to 
New Zealand, and called at Erith, down the river, to 
take a quantity of gunpowder on board. She also car¬ 
ried passengers that were going to New Zealand. The 
case ought cither to have been marked on the outside 
relative to its contents, or else information should have 
been given to Superintendent Shoppy, of the Dock 
Company’s own police, who would have seen that the 
box was properly labelled, and a description of its con¬ 
tents made known to the captain whom it was shipped 
with. 
The defendant said an order was sent down to his 
firm for the shipment of various articles. It was an 
act of carelessness that the case containing the benzine 
was not marked describing its contents. lie was totally 
unaware of the contents of the cases sent on board the 
Otago until he saw the bottle produced containing 
benzine. 
Mr. Lushington saw no reason to mitigate the penalty) 
and find the defendant £20 and 12s. costs.— Daily"Xetv -$• 
BOOKS RECEIYED. 
A Manual of Chemical Physiology, including its 
Points of Contact with Pathology. By J. L. AA r . 
Thudichum, M.D. London: Longmans. 1872. 
The Jury System. 
Among the gentlemen summoned to serve on the 
Grand Jury at the Central Criminal Court was Mr. 
Edward Thompson, a solicitor, who claimed exemption 
gii the ground of his professional occupation. 
The Court told him that, although he was legally 
exempted from serving by reason of his being a solicitor 
in practice, still, as he had allowed his name to appear 
in the jury list, the Court had no power to release him 
from serving. It was the duty of every one liable to be 
summoned under the new Jury Act to take care, if he 
was exempt, that his name was expunged from the jury 
list, for, if once the name was placed upon the list, the 
party was bound to serve. 
Mr. Thompson was accordingly sworn upon the Grand 
Jury.— Echo. 
[*** A correspondent, in calling attention to the above 
ease, points out that the ruling of the Court would apply 
to pharmaceutical chemists, so that it is therefore advis¬ 
able for them at the proper time to examine the j ury lists, 
to see whether their names are improperly placed thcron, 
and if so to claim exemption before it is too late.—E d. 
Pharm. Journ.] 
The Shipping of Benzine. 
On Tuesday, May 21st, at the Thames Police Court, 
George Curling, manufacturing chemist, of No. 17, St. 
Mary-Axe, City, was summoned before Mr. Lushington, 
charged with shipping a case of benzine without noti¬ 
fying the contents of the same by writing or in print 
on the outside of the case or box. 
Air. Charles Young, solicitor, appeared for the East 
and West India Dock Company, who prosecuted in this 
case. 
From the opening statement of Air. Young it appeared 
seven cases were sent from the defendant’s premises to 
the Dock on the 9th of Alay. They were described and 
marked on the outside as patent medicine. The cases 
were shipped on board the ship Otago, lying in the 
Dock, on the 11th of the same month. One of the cases 
was afterwards found to be running, and upon opening 
it, it was found to contain benzine. The other six cases 
contained what they were represented to be, namely, 
Air and Rain. The Beginnings of a Chemical Clima¬ 
tology. By Robert Angus Smith, Ph.D., F.R.S., 
F.C.S., etc. London: Longmans. 1872. 
The Students’ Pocket Companion to the British and 
London Piiarmacoposias of 1851 and 1867. By 
George Barber, Pharmaceutical Chemist, Liverpool 
Sixth Edition, revised and enlarged. 
Lecture Notes for Chemical Students. By Edward 
Franicland, D.C.L., F.R.S., etc. Yol. II. 
Chemistry. Second Edition. London : John 
Yoorst. 1872. 
Organic 
an 
The Chemical Note Book : for the L T se of Students. 
New Edition. London. S. Deacon. 1872. 
AIEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. 
Monday. 
Alay 27. 
Tuesday 
Alay 28. 
Wednesday 
Alay 29. 
Thursday... 
Alay 30. 
Friday 
Alay 31. 
Saturday 
J one 1. 
...Society of Arts, at 8 p.m. — “Silicates, 
Silicides, Glass and Glass Fainting.” By 
Professor Barlf (Cantor Lecture). 
London Institution, at 4 p.m. —“Elementary 
Botany.” By Professor Bentley. 
...Loyal Institution, at 3 p.m. —“Develop¬ 
ment of Belief and Custom.” By Mr. 
E. B. Tylor. 
...Loyal Medical and Chirurgical Society, at 
8.30 p.m. 
...Loyal Society, at 9 p.m. 
Loyal Institution, at 3 p.m. —“ Heat and 
Light.” By Dr. Tyndall. 
Chemical Society, at 8 p.m. 
London Institution, at 7.30 p.m. —“ Experi¬ 
mental Evidence against the Spontaneous 
Generation of Living Things. ’ By W. N. 
Hartley, F.C.S. 
Gresham College, at 7 p.m. —“ Prescriptions.” 
By Dr. E. Seines Thompson (Gresham 
Lecture). 
..Loyal Institution, at 9 P.M. 
Gresham College, at 7 p.m. “ Alineral and 
A T egetable Tonics.” By Dr. E. Symes 
Thompson (Gresham Lecture). 
..Loyal Institution, at 3 p.m. — “Chemical 
Action of Light.” By Professor lloscoe. 
