AMERICAN   PHARMACEUTICAL  ASSOCIATION. 
489 
dealers  sell  it,  would  it  do  to  prohibit  its  retail  sale,  bow  is  it  dispensed,  what 
number  of  accidents  and  whether  these  occur  from  its  use  by  agriculturists? 
The  Committee  reported  that  a  majority  of  the  Chemists  and  Druggists  re- 
quire witnesses  in  selling  arsenic,  label  the  inner  and  outer  wrappers,  and  son>e 
color  it.  The  classes  of  persons  who  buy  arsenic  are  colorists  and  chemical 
manufacturers,  candle-makers,  farmers,  dock-masters,  veterinary  surgeons,  ship- 
wrights, glass  manufacturers,  and  dyers,  in  large  quantities;  and  braziers,  white- 
smiths, bird  stuffers,  gamekeepers,  gardeners,  grooms,  whitewashes,  pointers, 
pyrotechnists,  ratcatchers,  and  housekeepers  of  all  grades,  for  vermin,  in  small 
quantities.  They  ascertained  that  arsenic  was  employed  most  extensively 
through  the  agricultural  districts,  both  for  sheep-dipping  and  for  steepiv g wheat . 
About  40  lbs.  of  arsenic  are  required  for  every  1000  sheep  to  kill  vermin.  Of 
728  answers,  509  advocated  prohibition  ;  yet  the  numerous  legitimate  uses  of 
the  poison  render  its  sale  necessary.  One  large  farmer  had  killed  in  a  year 
more  than  40,000  rats.  The  Committee  arrived  at  the  following  conclusions, 
viz  : — 
1st.  That  with  regular  chemists  and  druggists,  proper  precautions  are  taken 
and  few  accidents  occur. 
2nd.  That  the  unrestricted  sale  of  poisons  in  general  by  unqualified  persons 
is  the  great  source  of  danger. 
3rd.  And  that  the  total  prohibition  of  the  retail  sale  of  arsenic  is  impractica- 
ble and  inconsistent  with  the  requirements  of  legitimate  trade. 
Subsequently  on  the  5th  of  June,  1851,  Parliament  enacted  a  law  requiring 
1st.  That  all  arsenic  sales  shall  be  witnessed  by  a  third  party  when  the  pur- 
chaser is  unknown  to  the  vender. 
2d.  That  all  arsenic  sales  shall  be  registered  in  a  book  in  a  specified  form. 
3d.  That  not  less  than  ten  lbs.  of  arsenic  shall  be  sold  unless  colored  by  soot 
or  indigo,  unless  for  a  specified  purpose  in  the  arts,  under  a  penalty  of  $100. 
4th.  That  the  Act  shall  not  apply  to  arsenic  used  medicinally,  or  to  the  inter- 
course between  wholesale  and  retail  dealers. 
5th.  And  that  the  word  "arsenic"  includes  all  preparations  of  arsenious  and 
arsenic  acids  and  other  colorless  poisonous  preparations  of  arsenic. 
The  Act  was  confined  to  arsenic  because  it  was  the  most  generally  known  and 
most  accessible  poison,  and  because  restrictive  legislation  on  the  whole  list  of 
poisons  was  looked  upon  as  impossible.  The  poison  is  sold  in  all  quantities, 
from  a  pennyworth  up,  at  petty  stores  and  by  general  dealers  in  England,  and  the 
Arsenic  Act,  without  depriving  these  of  their  right  to  sell,  compels  them  to  do 
it  as  above. 
To  the  correspondence  they  have  instituted,  your  Committee  have  received 
answers  from  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Maryland,  the 
District  of  Columbia,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Mississippi, 
Louisiana,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Ohio,  and  California. 
It  appears  that  but  little  State  legislation  has  taken  place  in  regard  to  the  sale 
of  poisons.  In  Ohio  an  Act  somewhat  similar  to  the  English  "  Arsenic  Act" 
was  passed  soon  after  the  latter,  requiring  the  poison  to  be  mixed  with  soot  or 
indigo  before  being  retailed,  yet  but  little  regard  is  had  to  it  in  practice. 
[The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Ohio  law,  taken  from  the  Cincinnati  Report. 
Sec.  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  That  it 
shall  not  hereafter  be  lawful  for  any  apothecary,  druggist,  or  other  person  in 
this  State,  to  sell  or  give  away  any  article  belonging  to  the  class  of  medicines, 
usually  denominated  poisons,  except  in  compliance  with  the  restrictions  con- 
tained in  this  act. 
Sec.  2.  That  every  apothecary,  druggist,  or  other  person  who  shall  sell  or 
give  away,  except  upon  the  prescription  of  a  physician,  any  article  or  articles 
of  medicine  belonging  to  the  class  usually  know7n  as  poisons,  shall  be  required  : 
1st.  To  register  in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose,  the  name,  age,  sex,  and  color 
of  the  person  obtaining  such  poison. 
2d.  The  quantity  sold. 
3d.  The  purpose  for  which  it  is  required. 
4th.  The  day  and  date  on  which  it  was  obtained. 
