WHOLESALE  LEAD  POISONING. 
367 
of  countenance.  The  above  are  the  symptoms  which  have  been 
present  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  prominence  and  severity 
in  every  case. 
Professional  men  at  once  saw  that  these  symptoms  pointed  to, 
and  were  characteristic  of,  lead  poison  ;  but  it  was  also  observed 
that  some  or  all  of  them  were  encountered  in  other  and  far  dif- 
ferent forms  of  disease,  as  in  colica  enteritis,  (inflammation  of 
the  intestines,)  hcematuria,  (bloody  urine,)  dymria,  (difficulty  in 
voiding  urine,)  and  other  conditions  of  the  system,  in  which 
spasm,  nervous  disorder  and  paralysis  manifest  themselves.  The 
only  diagnostic  symptom  which,  regarded  by  itself,  was  conclusive 
as  to  the  lead  poison,  was  the  blue  line  at  the  margin  of  the 
teeth,  which  has  been  present  in  almost  every  case.  The  doctors 
were  sorely  perplexed,  but,  in  about  two  weeks  after  the  first 
violent  cases  came  under  their  notice,  they  had,  by  careful 
study,  traced  the  lead  in  the  system,  so  that  there  was  no  longer 
any  doubt  on  that  point.  It  now  remained  to  ascertain  the 
source  from  whence  it  came. 
After  considerable  research,  it  was  found  that  the  lead  was 
conveyed  into  the  stomachs  of  the  sufferers  by  bread  and  meal ; 
and,  as  a  greater  part  of  those  staples  were  manufactured  at  the 
mill  of  a  Mr.  Marsh  at  Phillipsburg,  an  investigation  was  at 
once  made  in  that  direction,  and  the  following  facts  were  elicited, 
greatly  to  the  surprise  of  every  one,  the  miller  himself  in- 
cluded : — 
It  appears  that  Mr.  Marsh  had  gained  an  enviable  notoriety 
for  the  superior  quality  of  his  flour,  and  that  the  farmers,  for 
many  miles  around,  were  in  the  habit  of  bringing  their  wheat 
and  corn  to  his  mill  to  be  made  into  flour  and  meal.  Aside  from 
this,  he  exported  largely,  so  that  his  mill,  which  has  four  run  of 
stone,  was  kept  constantly  going — by  night  as  well  as  by  day. 
One  set  of  these  stones  was  set  apart  for  his  "  custom  "  work. 
This  was  an  old  set,  constantly  needing  repairs,  and  large 
cavities  frequently  manifested  themselves,  which,  instead  of 
being  filled  up  with  the  cement  generally  used  for  that  purpose, 
were  filled  with  common  lead.  Some  of  these  holes  were  as 
large  as  a  hen's  egg,  one,  we  are  informed,  being  as  large  as  the 
palm  of  a  man's  hand.    If,  when  filled,  the  lead  projected  above 
