490 
PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE 
5th.  The  name  and  place  of  abode  of  the  person  for  whom  the  article  is  in- 
tended. 
(5th.  To  carefully  mark  the  word  '-'poison5'  upon  the  label  or  wrapper  of  each 
package. 
7th.  To  neither  sell  nor  give  away  any  article  of  poison  to  minors  of  either 
sex. 
Sec.  3.  That  no  apothecary,  druggist,  or  other  person,  shall  be  permitted 
to  sell  or  give  away  any  quantity  of  arsenic  less  than  one  pound,  without  first 
mixing  either  soot  or  indigo  therewith,  in  the  proportion  of  one  ounce  of  soot  or 
half  an  ounce  of  indigo,  to  the  pound  of  arsenic. 
Sec.  4.  That  any  person  offending  against  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall 
be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and,  upon  conviction  thereof,  shall  be  fined 
in  any  sum  not  less  than  twenty,  nor  more  than  two  hundred  dollars,  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction. 
Sec.  5.  This  act  to  take  effect  and  be  in  force,  from  and  after  its  passage. — 
Exec.  Comm.'] 
In  New  Hampshire  a  State  law  exists  requiring  "Every  apothecary,  druggist, 
or  other  person,  who  shall  sell  any  arsenic,  corrosive  sublimate,  nux  vomica, 
strychnia,  or  prussic  acid,  shall  make  a  record  of  such  sale  in  a  book  kept  for 
that  purpose,  specifying  the  kind  and  quantity  of  the  article  sold,  and  the  time 
when,  and  the  name  of  the  person  to  whom  such  sale  is  made,  which  record  shall 
be  open  to  all  persons  who  may  wish  to  examine  the  same.5' 
The  other  sections  exempt  physicians  prescriptions,  and  provide  a  penalty  of 
•¥100,  for  the  violation  of  the  first  section.  Mr.  Edward  H.  Parker,  of  Concord, 
N.  H.,  in  giving  this  information,  slates,  that  the  law  is  almos-t  if  not  entirely 
ineffectual,  and  that  not  more  than  one  in  five  of  the  druggists  pretend  to  keep 
such  a  record,  and  some  are  not  even  aware  of  its  existence.  The  effect  has 
been  to  confine  the  sale  of  poisons  to  the  druggist,  as  "  grocers  and  shop-keepers 
rarely,  if  ever,  retail  arsenic  or  other  poisons  specified  in  this  law." 
[The  following  law  of  the  State  of  New  York  is  derived  from  the  report  of  the 
N.  Y.  College  of  Pharmacy,  on  statistics.  "  Every  apothecary,  druggist,  or 
other  person,  who  shall  sell  or  deliver  any  arsenic,  corrosive  sublimate,  prussic 
acid,  or  any  other  substance  or  liquid  usually  denominated  Poisonous,  without 
having  the  word  poison  written  or  printed  upon  a  label  attached  to  the  phial, 
box  or  parcel  in  which  the  same  is  sold  ;  or  who  shall  sell  and  deliver  any  tartar 
emetic,  without  having  the  true  name  thereof  written  or  printed  upon  a  label  at- 
tached to  the  phial,  box  or  parcel  containing  the  same,  shall  upon  conviction  be 
adjudged  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall  be  punished  by  a  fine  not  exceeding 
one  hundred  dollars."    Exec.  Comm.] 
Through  Mr.  Peck,  of  Bennington,  it  appears  that  no  law  bearing  on  the  sale 
of  poisons,  exists  in  Vermont.  The  regular  druggists  take  generally  the  proper 
precautions,  but  at  nearly  all  of  the  little  stores  in  the  villages  throughout  the 
state,  arsenic,  opium,  and  even  strychnia  are  sold  without  being  labelled. 
In  the  large  cities,  the  better  class  of  druggists  and  apothecaries  are  ex- 
ceedingly careful  in  the  sale  of  all  poisons  ;  many  refuse  to  sell  arsenic  at  all 
except  in  medicine,  and  strychnia  and  poisons  of  that  kind  are  refused  without  a 
prescription,  except  in  special  cases,  where  the  applicant  is  well  known  and  the 
purpose  obvious  to  the  vender.  Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  many  others,  while 
careful  to  label  poisons,  are  not  sufficiently  discriminative  in  their  sale.  It  has 
become  usual  in  many  places  to  employ  corrosive  sublimate  as  a  bug  poison. 
Many  druggists  require  that  the  purchaser  shall  bring  a  bottle  that  can  be 
properly  labelled — some  are  willing  to  sell  the  poison  in  substance,  and  risk  its 
subsequent  appropriate  use.  In  view  of  the  abundant  employment  of  this  poison 
in  families,  often  put  in  the  hands  of  servants — it  is  surprising  that  so  few  acci- 
dents occur  with  it. 
Our  inquiries  from  correspondents  in  the  South  and  South  West,  exhibit  that 
no  State  laws  exist  restricting  the  sale  of  poisons,  to  persons  not  suspicious,  yet 
there  is  an  universal  practice  of  refusing  arsenic  and  other  poisons  to  the  black 
population,  unless  they  bring  a  satisfactory  order  from  employers  or  owners. 
In  middle  Florida,  14  opium,  morphia,  strychnia,  nux  vomica  and  arsenic"  can 
