ATTEMPT  TO  POISON  WITH  STRYCHNIA. 
295 
largest  crystals  in  the  same  bottle  mixed  with  very  small  ones 
analyzed  under  No.  4. 
Now,  although  by  the  method  of  Marozeau  the  true  purity  of 
iodide  of  potassium  can  not  be  found,  it  is  so  very  convenient  on 
account  of  its  simplicity  and  quickness,  that  it  deserves  to  be 
recommended  to  the  druggists  for  their  general  adoption,  if  they 
have  not  time  to  make  a  quantitative  analysis  of  the  amount  of 
pure  iodide  present  by  converting  it  into  the  protoiodide  of 
copper. 
Philadelphia,  June,  1854. 
NOTICE  OF  AN  ATTEMPT  TO  POISON  WITH  STKYCHNIA. 
By  Henry  F.  Fish,  of  Waterbury,  Conn. 
On  the  4th  of  March  last,  a  gentleman  of  this  city  brought  me 
a  small  basket  containing  his  dinner,  which,  he  said,  he  had  been 
deterred  from  eating,  owing  to  the  discovery  of  a  very  unpleasant 
bitter  taste  developed  on  biting  a  fried  cake.  The  basket  was 
wrapped  loosely  in  a  paper,  and  my  attention  was  immediately 
called  to  some  white  grains  lying  near  and  under  the  bottom  of 
the  basket.  On  examining  these,  as  well  as  the  contents  of  the 
basket,  with  a  magnifying  glass,  I  was  enabled  to  obtain  and  pre- 
serve nearly  all  the  suspected  substance,  not  actually  absorbed 
by,  or  adhering  to,  the  various  articles  of  food.  From  the 
physical  aspect  and  intense  bitter  taste  of  these  small  white 
grains,  I  was  induced  to  think  the  suspected  substance  was 
amorphous  commercial  strychnia,  combined,  as  that  sort  of  strych- 
nia generally  is,  with  brucia,  in  just  sufficient  quantity  to  ren- 
der it  chemically  impure.  I  employed  the  following  means  for 
identifying  these  substances. 
1st.  A  portion  of  the  suspected  powder  was  boiled  with  water, 
but  remained  nearly,  if  not  quite,  insoluble,  imparting  to  the 
water,  on  cooling,  a  slight  opacity.  The  taste  of  this  mixture 
was  purely  and  intensely  bitter,  leaving  upon  the  tongue,  for 
many  hours,  a  peculiar  impression.  . 
2d.  A  portion  of  the  same  powder  was  then  submitted  to  the 
action  of  nitric  acid  of  44°.  It  was  entirely  dissolved,  without 
any  evolution  of  gas,  and  the  mixture  assumed  a  decided  brick 
red  color. 
