Page:Treatise on poisons in relation to medical jurisprudence, physiology, and the practice of physic (IA treatiseonpoison00chriuoft).pdf/96

 PART SECOND.

OF INDIVIDUAL POISONS.

CHAPTER I.

OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF POISONS.

After the preliminary observations on General Poisoning, I proceed next to treat of Poisons Individually. The subsequent remarks will be confined in a great measure to the most common poisons, which will be examined minutely. The rest being mere objects of curiosity, and hardly ever taken by man either intentionally or by accident, it will be sufficient to point out their leading properties.

It may be well to point out in the first instance the poisons in most general use. These will appear from the following Tables. The first is compiled from a Parliamentary Return of the cases of fatal poisoning brought before the coroners of England in two years ending with 1838.

1. Arsenical     White arsenic       185 Yellow arsenic       1 —186

2. Acids           Sulphuric acid      32 Nitric acid         3 Oxalic acid        19 —54

3. Mercurials      Corrosive sublimate  12 White mercury       1 Turbith-mineral     1 Mercury (?)         1 —15

4. ''Other mineral    Tartar-emetic        2 irritants''        Sulphate of iron    1 Chloride of tin     1 Subacetate of lead  1 Bichrom. of potash  1 Percussion powder   1 Carbonate of potash 1 Black-ash           1 —9

5. ''Veget. irritants'' Colchicum          3 Hellebore           1 Savin               1 Cayenne             1 Castor seeds        1 Morison pills       1 —8

6. ''Anim. irrits.''   Cantharides         2

7. Opium           Opium or Laudan. 180                     Opium & nitric acid  1 Poppy-syrup         4 Godfrey's Cordial   6 Morphia             1 Acetate of morphia  1 —193

8. ''Hydrocyanic      Med. Hydroc. acid  27 acid''             Do. and Laudanum   1 Ess. oil of Almonds 5 Bay-leaves          1 —34

9. ''Other veget. Nux-vomica         3 Narcotics''        Strychnia           2 Belladonna         2 Hemlock            1 Monkshood          2 Spirits            4 Fungi              4 —18

10. ''Narcot. gases.'' Coal-gas            2

11. Unascertained                       22

Total      543