172 
STRYCHNINE  IN  BRITISH  BEER,  PALE  ALE,  ETC. 
in  ray  laboratory  for  the  preservation  of  various  gases,  by  cover- 
ing strips  of  linen  with  it. — Chemical  Gazette,  Dec,  1st,  from 
ComptesRendas,  Sept.  27th,  1852. 
STRYCHNINE  IN  BRITISH  BEER,  PALE  ALE,  ETC. 
Some  time  since,  in  a  lecture  delivered  by  M.  Payen,  at  Paris, 
he  is  asserted  to  have  stated  that  strychnine  was  prepared  in  large 
quantities  in  Paris,  and  that  the  French  authorities  had  ascer- 
tained that  it  was  destined  for  England,  it  being  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  celebrated  bitter  beer  of  that  country. 
This  statement  was  copied  into  the  Times  newspaper,  and  thus 
became  universally  disseminated.  It  was  met  with  a  decided  and 
indignant  denial  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturers.  They  invited 
and  obtained  the  services  of  eminent  analytic  chemists  (Professor 
Graham,  of  University  College,  and  Professor  Hoffman,  of  the 
Royal  College  of  Chemistry,)  who  deny  unequivocally  the  presence 
of  the  poison  in  even  the  smallest  possible  quantity.  Their  obser- 
vations, and  the  mode  of  analysis  pursued,  are  worthy  of  attention. 
Strychnine,  the  alleged  (in  this  instance)  substitute  for  hop,  is 
a  fine  crystallizable  substance,  extracted  from  nux  vomica,  and 
belongs  to  the  class  of  vegetable  alkaloids.  Although  a  valuable 
medicine  in  minute  doses,  still,  it  is  remarkable  for  its  energy  as 
a  poison,  and  for  the  intense  bitterness  of  its  taste.  Half  a  grain 
would  poison  a  person,  and  the  bitterness  of  the  same  minute 
quantity  is  perceptible  in  every  drop  of  six  or  eight  gallons  of 
water  in  which  it  is  dissolved. 
"  It  may  be  stated,  at  once,  that  the  quantity  of  strychnine 
which  we  find  necessary  to  impart  to  beer  the  degree  of  bitterness 
possessed  by  pale  ales,  is,  for  a  gallon  of  beer,  one  grain  of  strych- 
nine, or  double  the  fatal  dose.  The  price  of  strychnine  is  about 
16s.  the  ounce,  which  does  not  amount  to  so  much  as  one  penny 
per  grain.  Estimating  the  annual  production  of  pale  ale  in  Bur- 
ton at  200,000  barrels,  the  strychnine  required  as  a  bitter  would, 
however,  amount  to  16,448  ounces,  and  cost  .£13,158,  while  no- 
body believes  that  so  much  as  1000  ounces  of  strychnine  are 
annually  manufactured  over  the  whole  world.  The  bitterness 
obtained  by  means  of  strychnine  is  equal  in  degree  to  that  of  the 
