Page:Treatise on poisons in relation to medical jurisprudence, physiology, and the practice of physic (IA treatiseonpoison00chriuoft).pdf/217

 *ness or yellow milkiness only is caused, owing to the sulphuret being soluble in an excess of hydrosulphuric acid. But on expelling that excess by boiling, a distinct precipitate and colourless fluid are produced. The precipitate is then to be collected thus. The precipitate is allowed to subside, and the supernatant fluid being withdrawn, the remainder is poured into a filter. When all the fluid has passed through, the portions of precipitate on the upper part of the filter are washed down to the bottom. The filter is then gently compressed between folds of bibulous paper, and the sulphuret removed with the point of a knife before it dries, and dried in little masses on a watch-glass by the side of a chamber-fire, or still better in a vapour-bath. In this way it is very easy to collect a twenty-fifth part of a grain of the sulphuret. Another method which takes more time, but will enable the least skilful person to collect extremely small quantities, is to allow the sulphuret to subside in the original fluid in which it is formed, to pour off the supernatant liquid, and pour the remainder into a small glass tube, Fig. 7. After the precipitate has thoroughly subsided, the supernatant liquid is to be withdrawn, and its place filled up with boiling water. The operation of alternate subsidence and affusion being repeated a sufficient number of times, the last portions of water should be gently driven off by heat, and wiped off the inside of the tube as the drops condense on it. Finally, the bottom of the tube, with the precipitate attached, is to be cut away with the file, and broken into small fragments with the view of preserving the whole sulphuret for the process of reduction. The sulphuret having been collected in either of these ways, it is now to be dropt into the tube, Fig. 3, and covered by means of the funnel, Fig. 4, with soda-flux. The process in other particulars is the same with that for reducing solid oxide of arsenic.

This method of investigation gives extremely precise results, because it presents the poison successively in three distinct forms, as sulphuret, metal, and crystallized oxide, all of which possess very prominent and characteristic external properties. It is also a method which is capable of detecting very minute quantities of oxide of arsenic. And it has the advantage over the process by liquid reagents of being applicable to organic fluids. It was accordingly followed in most medico-legal researches until the recent discovery of the methods of Marsh and Reinsch.

In order to render it quite satisfactory, it is necessary to go through the steps of the analysis at the same time with distilled water, lest any of the reagents used should accidentally contain arsenic.

Process of Marsh.—This method consists in disengaging arsenic from the solution in the form of arseniuretted-hydrogen gas, burning the gas in such way as to obtain either metallic arsenic or oxide of arsenic, and subjecting the product to various tests.

I have called this beautiful method of analysis Marsh's process, because it appears to me that injustice has been done its discoverer