GLEANINGS — TOXICOLOGICAL. 
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Poisoning  by  the  Root  of  Water  Hemlock,  (  Cicuta  virosay — 
Two  young  men,  farm  laborers  at  West  Boldon,  Sunderland, 
(Eng.)  were  engaged  in  cleaning  a  hedge  and  ditch,  during 
which  they  ate  of  the  root  of  water  hemlock  without  suspecting 
its  nature,  and  were  found  paralyzed  and  speechless  near  the 
ditch.  Medical  aid  was  summoned,  but  they  expired  shortly 
after  removal  to  a  house.  Portions  of  the  root  of  Cicuta  were 
found  near  with  teeth  marks  on  them,  and  a  root  in  the  pocket 
of  one  of  the  laborers  Ibid. 
Accidental  Poisoning  by  Arsenic. — On  the  16th  of  March 
last,  the  Rev.  James  Alexander,  LL.  D.,  Rector  of  Tessauran, 
Kings  county,  Ireland,  who  was  just  convalescent  from  illness, 
sent  to  the  shop  of  Edward  Whitfield,  in  Ferbane,  for  a  pound 
of  arrow  root.  Denis  Grogan,  shopman,  finding  the  shop  jar 
did  not  contain  sufficient,  made  up  the  weight  from  an  unlabelled 
bundle  of  a  white  powder.  The  arrow  root  was  prepared  and 
partaken  of  by  Dr.  Alexander,  his  daughter  and  two  servants. 
The  daughter  noticing  a  peculiar  taste  in  the  jelly,  at  once 
suspected  poison,  sent  for  a  physician  and  immediately  ad- 
ministered mustard  emetics  to  her  father  and  herself.  Dr. 
Alexander  died  on  the  1st  of  April;  the  others  recovered. 
From  the  investigation  before  the  magistrates  it  appears  that 
Whitfield  is  a  grocer,  who  is  in  the  habit  of  selling  poisons  and 
some  medicines  used  by  farmers,  and  since  the  accident,  rice, 
jalap,  corrosive  sublimate  and  oxalic  acid  were  found  in  differ- 
ent papers  in  the  same  drawer,  and  all  under  the  care  of  an 
ignorant  boy.  Grogan  was  required  to  give  bail  after  a  coroner's 
verdict  in  accordance  with  the  facts. — Pharm.  Journ.  May, 
1857. 
Poisoning  by  Ammonia. — James  Thompson,  of  Halifax,  Eng., 
during  a  depressed  state  of  mind  attempted  to  drink  a  wine- 
glassful  of  solution  of  ammonia,  but  was  prevented  by  a  ser- 
vant. Soon  afterwards  he  stealthily  possessed  himself  of  the 
bottle,  which  had  been  locked  up,  and  drank  a  large  draught, 
from  which  he  expired  in  fifteen  minutes.  Verdict  accordingly. 
— Manchester  Guardian  and  Pharm.  Journ. 
Poisoning  by  Radix  Belladonna?. — Two  persons,  a  father 
and  son,  were  poisoned  at  Dudley,  England,  by  taking  a  decoc- 
tion of  fresh  root  of  belladonna,  used  accidentally  for  comfrey  ; 
