30 
CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  TOXICOLOGY. 
the  naked  eye,  which  could  be  separated  by  a  sharp  knife,  and 
proved  to  be  phosphorus.  Thus  it  was  possible,  in  victuals  con- 
taining phosphorus,  to  prove  its  presence  after  a  lapse  of  six 
months. —  Wittsteins  Vierteljaliresschr.  v.  377. 
Chemico-legal  analysis  of  Blood.  By  Dr.  G.  C.  Wittstein. 
In  the  trial  of  a  man  charged  with  the  murder  of  a  female, 
the  author  hacF  to  prove  the  identity  with  blood  of  red  stains 
found  on  his  garments,  and  on  an  axe  and  its  handle.  The 
stains  were  scraped  off  with  a  knife,  or  where  that  was  impos- 
sible, were  dissolved  out  by  water,  and  the  solution  evaporated 
at  a  very  low  temperature. 
1.  The  substance  was  heated  in  a  glass  tube ;  it  became  black, 
and  gave  off  thick  white  vapors,  smelling  like  burning  feathers, 
and  browning  curcuma  paper,  which  color  disappeared  on  lying 
in  the  air. 
2.  It  was  gradually  heated  to  redness  with  a  little  sodium, 
the  residue  dissolved  in- water,  filtered,  mixed  with  a  few  drops 
of  a  solution  of  proto-  and  peroxide  of  iron,  and  over-saturated 
with  muriatic  acid  ;  which  caused  a  precipitate  of  Prussian  blue. 
3.  A  watery  solution  was  heated  to  boiling ;  it  separated  a 
brownish  grey  coagulum,  which  disappeared  on  the  addition  of 
caustic  potassa ;  the  liquid  now  had  a  greenish  color. 
4.  A  solution  was  mixed  with  chlorine  water  ;  it  was  decolor- 
ized, and  white  floccules  were  separated. 
5.  On  the  addition  of  nitric  acid,  a  greyish,  finely  flocculent 
precipitate  took  place. 
6.  Tannic  acid  produced  a  greyish  precipitate  with  a  tinge  of 
violet. 
The  axe  and  its  handle  had  evidently  been  washed ;  a  few 
spots  on  the  handle  could  not  be  dissolved  in  water,  but  caustic 
potassa  took  them  up  ;  at  the  same  time,  however,  the  liquid  be- 
came of  so  dark  a  color  that  it  was  unfit  for  testing  it.  What 
little  remained  on  the  iron  was  carefully  scraped  off ;  an  admix- 
ture with  iron  rust  could  not  be  avoided,  which  remained  behind 
on  heating  with  caustic  potassa  ;  chlorine  decolorized  the  alkaline 
liquor  and  precipitated  white  floccules.  The  scrapings  were, 
however,  insoluble  in  pure  water,  thus  proving  Rose's  experience 
of  the  insolubility  of  the  red  coloring  matter  of  blood  in  water, 
in  the  presence  of  oxide  of  iron,  to  be  correct. 
