The characteristics most simple and well-marked are--

The volatility of the deposit when heated, shown by its escaping from the

hotter portion of the tube and condensing on the cooler part higher up or

further on.

Its conversion into minute octahedral crystals of arsenious anhydride,

when repeatedly chased up and down the tube by the cautious application of

the flame of a spirit lamp first to one part, and then to another. The

character of these crystals with respect to volatility, lustre,

transparency, and form, is so exceedingly well marked that a practised eye

may safely identify them, though their weight should not exceed the

1/100th or even the 1/250th part of a grain. A pocket lens is here

serviceable. The form of the crystals is very evident with a microscope of

4 powers. Oxide of antimony never forms octahedrons, but only prisms.

In employing this test, particular care must be taken to avoid soiling the

sides of the tube in inserting the mixture, and that the substances

operated on are perfectly dry; as unless this is attended to, the

experiment does not succeed. The common plan is to introduce the mixture

through a small paper funnel or tube extemporised for the purpose. The

heat at first should be gentle, and merely sufficient to expel any

adhering moisture from the mixture and the inner surface of the tube;

after which (except where otherwise ordered) the upper portion of the

mixture should be strongly heated, and then the bulb or bottom of the tube

exposed to the full flame. After the operation is complete the bulb or

lower portion of the tube is usually removed by a file, and the portion

containing the deposit hermetically sealed, when it may be preserved,

unaltered, for any length of time, ready to be produced as evidence if

required.

This test is usually regarded as decisive; as we here actually obtain the

arsenic in a solid form, recognisable by the most unequivocal characters.

_Reinsch's Test; Cupro-arsenical Test._ The suspected solution is strongly

acidulated with hydrochloric acid (1 to 6 or 8), and after being raised to

ebullition in a porcelain or glass vessel, a piece of bright and clean

metallic copper about 1/2 inch long and 1/4 inch wide in the form of gauze

or foil, but preferably the first, is added, and the whole boiled

together. The time required for the ebullition varies according to the

strength of the solution; when weak it should be continued for at least a

quarter of an hour. When the quantity of arsenic in the suspected liquid

is very small, at least half an hour should elapse before the removal of

the copper. In solutions containing a notable quantity of arsenic, a few

seconds is often sufficient to obtain a coating; but which, for safety

sake, may be extended to two or three minutes, or even longer. Liquids

rich in organic matter also require longer boiling than those nearly free

from it. The coated copper, which has now acquired a characteristic

iron-grey colour, is then taken from the liquid, carefully washed in

distilled water, in alcohol, and (if greasy) in ether, next dried on

blotting-paper, and then either cut into small pieces, or rolled into a

small coil or cylinder. It is then heated in a reduction-tube over a

spirit lamp, when the metallic arsenic forming the coating is volatilised,

and yields a sublimate of minute octahedral crystals of arsenious

anhydride; or, if the tube be very small, or any reducing agent be added,

a bright metallic ring. When the coating on the copper is sufficiently

thick, it may be scraped off with a knife, and heated separately in an

arsenic-tube.

This test is invaluable as affording a certain and ready means of

abstracting arsenic from its solution, whether pure or mixed with organic

matter. The contents of the stomach or other viscera may thus be at once

examined, without any tedious preliminary operations. In this way Dr

Christison discovered the presence of arsenic upwards of four months after

interment; and we have ourselves found it two years and eight months after

interment. The coated copper may be preserved unharmed for years. Dr

Taylor found that the 1-8th of an inch in one of these deposits that had

been kept in paper nearly fourteen years gave a well-marked ring of

octahedral crystals when heated.

[Illustration]

_Sulphuretted Hydrogen Test; Sulphur Test._ This produces a bright yellow

precipitate of trisulphide of arsenic (orpiment) in solutions containing a

free acid; but acts slowly and imperfectly on pure and neutral solutions,

and does not disturb those that possess an alkaline reaction. The

suspected liquid should therefore be slightly acidulated with hydrochloric

or acetic acid before applying this test, unless it be already acid, when

it is better first to neutralise it with an alkali, and then to add the

acid. The transmission of the gas through the liquid (see _engr._) should

be continued for at least half an hour; when the end of the conducting

tube, after being well rinsed in the liquid, is removed, and the glass,

lightly covered with a piece of porous paper, set aside in a temperature

of about 100° Fahr., until the odour of sulphuretted hydrogen is

completely lost. The precipitate is now collected on a small filter,

washed with pure water, and dried by a gentle heat. It is then placed in a

watch-glass or small capsule, and redissolved in a little liquor of

ammonia, which is then again expelled by heat; or it may be at once

submitted to confirmatory tests. It is shown to contain arsenic by its

ready and perfect solubility in ammonia, and in solutions of the fixed

alkalies, their carbonates and bicarbonates, and in alkaline sulphides; by

being nearly insoluble in hydrochloric acid, even when concentrated and

boiling; and by yielding a metallic mirror when mixed with a flux and

submitted to the reduction-test (which _see_).

Sulphuretted-hydrogen water and sulphydrate of ammonium act in a similar

way to gaseous sulphuretted hydrogen; but much less effectively.

[Illustration]

For accuracy, the sulphuretted hydrogen should be washed by passing it

through a small bottle containing a little pure water, or dilute sulphuric

acid, before allowing it to enter the arsenical liquor. The reduction of

the newly precipitated sulphide is generally regarded as the most

important part of the investigation, and requires great care and

attention. An extremely elegant and sensitive method of effecting this is

by heating the mixture in a stream of dry carbonic acid gas. This method

has been followed by Drs Babo and Fresenius with the most satisfactory

results, and is thus performed:--(_A_) is a capacious flask for the

evolution of carbonic acid, half filled with rather large pieces of solid

limestone or marble (not chalk). To one aperture of the doubly perforated

cork, a funnel-tube (_a_) is adapted, which nearly reaches to the bottom

of the vessel; to the other aperture a tube (_b_), by means of which the

gas evolved is conducted into a flask of smaller size (_B_), in which it

is washed and dried by concentrated sulphuric acid. The tube (_c_)

conducts the carbonic acid into the reduction-tube (_C_), which is

shortened in the _engr._, and must be made of difficultly fusible glass.

When the apparatus is prepared, the sulphide of arsenic intended for

reduction is rubbed in a small basin, previously heated in a water-bath,

with about twelve parts of a well-dried mixture consisting of 3 parts of

dry carbonate of sodium and 1 part of cyanide of potassium (prepared by

Liebig's method). The mixed powder is then placed on a small strip of

card-paper beat into the shape of a gutter, which is next pushed into the

reduction-tube up to the point (_f_), and the tube is turned half round.

In this manner the mixture is deposited without soiling any other part of

the tube; after which the strip of card-paper is cautiously withdrawn.

The reduction-tube is then, by means of the cork (_e_), fixed in its

place; a moderate stream of carbonic acid gas is evolved by pouring

hydrochloric acid into the funnel-tube (_a_), and the mixture carefully

dried, by very moderately heating the tube along its whole length, by

means of a small spirit lamp. When the gas-stream has become so low that

the bubbles pass through the sulphuric acid at intervals of about a

second, the spot (_k_) is heated to redness by means of a spirit lamp.

When this point is attained another strong spirit-flame is applied to the

mixture, progressing from (_d_) to (_f_), until all the arsenic is reduced

and volatilised (the first flame at the same time continuing in action at

(_k_)).

The reduced arsenic recondenses at the spot (_g_), forming a mirror,

whilst an exceedingly small portion escapes at the capillary orifice

(_h_), and fills the air with its garlic-like odour. The second spirit

lamp is at last slowly advanced towards the other lamp, or the spot (_k_),

so as to drive towards (_g_) all the arsenic which has adhered to the

walls of the wider part of the tube. Both lamps are then removed, the tube

closed at the point (_h_) by fusion, and heat applied, progressing from

the point (_h_) towards (_g_), to contract the mirror on that side also,

which increases its beauty and distinctness. The tube is then cut off at

(_f_), and hermetically closed and sealed. In this state it becomes a

permanent evidence which may be referred to in any future proceedings.

Neither sulphide of antimony nor any other compound of antimony yields a

metallic mirror or ring when treated in this way. Less than 1/300 gr. of

trisulphide of arsenic thus gives a very distinct and beautiful mirror;

and even 1/500 gr. a clearly perceptible one.

_Voltaic Test._ The wires from the opposite poles of a voltaic battery are

immersed or brought in contact with a little of the arsenious solution

placed in a capsule or on a piece of window glass. If arsenic be present

it is developed at the negative pole; and if this be formed of copper

wire, it becomes whitened and assumes the appearance of polished steel or

silver, in consequence of the formation of arsenide of copper.

_Detection of Arsenic in Organic Mixtures._ Of the tests those which act

by producing coloured precipitates are only applicable, with any degree of

certainty, to perfectly limpid and colourless liquors. Those depending on

the extrication of arseniuretted hydrogen are partially free from this

inconvenience; but even here, if the suspected liquid be more than

slightly charged with organic matter, so much frothing ensues, as to

render the process nearly unmanageable. In this respect Reinsch's Test

possesses advantages over all others, as it may be applied even to

coloured liquids containing a considerable quantity of organic matter,

without these being subjected to any preliminary process, and without

danger of failure. In some cases also, as with liquids possessing only a

slight degree of consistency or colour, the arsenic may be separated,

after simple filtration and acidulation with hydrochloric acid, by a

stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, in the usual manner. The reduction-test

is only applicable to solid arsenious acid, or to compounds of arsenic

obtained by means of other tests or processes. In toxicological

examinations the poison is almost always to be sought for in mixtures

loaded with organic matter, and under other conditions even more

embarrassing. Soon after arsenic is swallowed it enters the circulation,

contaminates the various tissues, localises itself in certain viscera, and

is eliminated in the excretions. Hence it becomes necessary not only to

examine the solids and liquids in which it is suspected the poison has

been administered, the vomited matter, and the contents of the stomach and

primæ viæ, but also, in fatal cases, the stomach itself, the liver, blood,

muscles, and more especially the urine.[80] In such cases the stomach is

the part first laid open, and a careful examination is made of its

contents and coats in order to detect any undissolved particles of the

poison, a pocket lens being employed, if necessary, in the search. If any

particles, however minute, are found they are carefully collected and

submitted to the reduction-test. If the reverse be the case, the stomach

(cut into small pieces), together with its contents, is submitted to some

further process, to obtain a solution suitable for the application of the

usual tests. The liver, also some muscle, and any other portion of the

body that may be selected, are likewise separately treated in the same

manner. We have here both solid and liquid organic matter to operate on,

and the problem for solution is the abstraction of their arsenic in the

simplest and most certain manner, and in a form in which its presence may

be demonstrated by tests. This subject has long engaged the attention of

the most eminent chemists and toxicologists, and various plans have been

proposed for the purpose, among which the following appear to be the most

valuable and that usually adopted:--

[Footnote 80: Absorbed arsenic more particularly localises itself in the

liver, in which it may generally be found in from 12 to 15 hours after

administration. The liver also generally retains traces of arsenic long

after it has been eliminated from the other viscera and the muscular

tissues.]

(Reinsch.) Solids (as the stomach, liver, &c.) are cut into small

fragments and boiled in a glass vessel with water acidulated with about

1-4th of its volume of hydrochloric acid, until the tissues or fragments

are entirely broken down into flakes or grains, when the whole, after

filtration, is again heated to the boiling-point, and tested as described

under Reinsch's test (see ANTIMONY). Liquids do not require this

preparation.

Reinsch's test is inapplicable when, as sometimes happens, the arsenic

sought after may be in the state of one of the sulphides--either as

orpiment or realgar--a not improbable contingency, when it is remembered

that, although arsenious anhydride or white arsenic is the form most

generally used for criminal or suicidal purposes, the yellow and the red

varieties being largely employed in workshops where fireworks are

manufactured, have not unfrequently been had recourse to. Again, when the

examination of a corpse long buried and disinterred takes place, it must

be borne in mind that the arsenious anhydride taken by the deceased has,

by the decomposition of the body, become converted into sulphide. In these

cases the hydrochloric acid necessary for the performance of Reinsch's

test fails to effect the solution of the sulphide.

Mr Blyth says: "It is found that the post-mortem change into orpiment is

never quite complete, so that for the detection of arsenic in solid

organic substances, such as the tissues of the body, the best general

method is most decidedly to convert the arsenic, if present, into the

volatile chloride; and according to Dr Taylor, there is always sufficient

arsenic (if present at all) unchanged into sulphide to ensure success. The

only necessary caution is that the substance be thoroughly dried, and that

the reagents be pure. After drying it is placed in a retort with fuming

hydrochloric acid, and slowly distilled by the heat of a sand-bath. The

distillate contains chloride of arsenic (if arsenic was present), and may

be submitted to further tests."

_Estim._ This may be effected in various ways:--

1. GRAVIMETRICALLY:--Arsenic is usually WEIGHED under the form of arsenate

of lead, arsenate of sesquioxide of iron, tersulphide of arsenic,

(metallic) arsenic, or (directly) as arsenious anhydride. The last three

only, as the more simple and convenient, will be noticed here:--

As trisulphide:--The whole of the arsenic being precipitated by a stream

of sulphuretted hydrogen, with the necessary precautions, in the manner

already noticed, the precipitate, after being carefully collected, washed,

and dried, is purified by redissolving it in pure ammonia water, and

evaporating the resulting solution in a weighed watch glass or capsule by

the heat of a water-bath. It is then dried at a temperature not above 212°

Fahr., and finally weighed. Each grain of the tersulphide so found

corresponds to ·80487 gr. of arsenious acid, or ·61 gr. of metallic

arsenic.

As (metallic) Arsenic:--Obtained by one of the processes already given.

Each gr. represents 1·32 gr. arsenious acid.

As Arsenious anhydride:--Obtained in a weighed capsule or tube, either by

the crystallisation or sublimation test. The weight is the answer sought

for arsenious anhydride. Each gr. of this is equiv. to ·75758 gr. of

metallic arsenic.

VOLUMETRICALLY. (Method of F. Mohr.) This depends on the fact that an

aqueous solution of arsenious acid, or of an alkaline arsenite, when mixed

with an excess of saturated solution of pure bicarbonate of soda and a

little starch-paste, has its arsenious acid converted into arsenic acid by

a solution of iodine. A standard solution of iodine is, therefore, an

appropriate arsenim'eter for the above mixture. The solution of iodine is

added until the blue starch-reaction just begins to appear, the arsenious

solution having been previously exactly neutralised with pure carbonate of

soda if acid, or with pure hydrochloric acid if alkaline. The results are

accurate when no substance capable of oxidising or decomposing iodine is

present in the liquid tested.

_Phys. eff., &c._ Arsenious anhydride or white arsenic is alike

destructive to vegetable and animal life. Seeds soaked in any but a very

weak solution of it lose their power of germination, and buds plunged in

it become incapable of expanding into flowers. When applied to the leaves,

roots, or stems, absorption takes place, and the plant soon perishes. On

combustion it evolves the characteristic garlic-like odour of arsenic, and

arsenic may be discovered in its substance by chemical tests. According to

Jäger, Gilgenkrantz, and Pereira, a few of the lower order of the algæ are

occasionally developed in solutions of arsenious acid. To all animals,

from the infusoria up to man, arsenic proves deleterious, although in

different degrees, the highest susceptibility of its effects existing in

man on account of the superiority of his development. In all of them death

is preceded by inordinate actions and increased evacuations, especially

from the mucous surfaces. Difficult respiration, thirst, vomiting, and

convulsions are the leading symptoms which gradually develope themselves

as we approach the higher grades of the system. (Jäger.) In very small or

therapeutical doses, properly administered, it is a valuable medicine, and

acts as a tonic, alterative, and antispasmodic attenuant, and externally

as an escharotic. In slightly increased medicinal doses, or long-continued

small doses, nausea, vomiting, purging, griping, debility, emaciation, and

all the effects of slow-poisoning, occur in succession--a gradual sinking

of the powers of life, without any violent symptom; a nameless feeling of

illness, failure of the strength, an aversion to food and drink, and to

all the enjoyments of life. Redness of the conjunctiva and eyelids,

headache and giddiness, spasms, eczematous eruptions, numbness and

paralysis of the limbs, and ptyalism, are also frequent and well-marked

symptoms of slow poisoning by arsenic. In an excessive or poisonous dose

the symptoms are rapid and violent, usually indicating extreme

gastro-intestinal inflammation and disorder of the cerebro-spinal system,

and often occasioning death in from one to three days. The smallest fatal

dose found recorded by Christison is 4-1/2 gr., taken in solution. The

subject was a child 4 years old, and death occurred in six hours. 2-1/2

gr. destroyed a robust girl in 36 hours. (Letheby.) 2 gr., in solution,

are suspected to have caused the death of a full-grown woman. 2 or 3 gr.

may be a fatal dose. (Dr A. Taylor.) Notwithstanding these facts much

larger quantities have been taken, under peculiar circumstances, with

comparative impunity; and cases are not wanting in which even enormous

quantities have produced very trifling effects.

_The dose for animals is_--CATTLE, 5 to 10 grains. HORSE, 5 to 10 grains.

SHEEP, 1 to 2 grains. PIG, 1/2 to 2 grains. DOG, 1/15th to 1/10th of a

grain.

Under all circumstances arsenious anhydride is, undoubtedly, one of the

most powerful of the mineral poisons; and in whatever form or way it is

introduced into the system it exerts the same deleterious influence. In

all cases, in sufficient doses, its action is to increase the secretions,

diminish the contractility of the voluntary muscles, and to produce

convulsions, prostration and death.

Arsenic is a non-accumulative, irritant poison, and exerts no decided

chemical or corrosive action on the tissues. (Taylor.)

_Pois., &c.--Symp._ These sometimes begin to appear within half an hour

after the poison has been taken, or even sooner; but much more generally,

not until after the lapse of some hours. They usually commence with nausea

and distress at the stomach, followed by thirst, often intense, and a

sense of burning heat in the bowels; then come on constriction of the

[oe]sophagus, violent vomiting, severe colic pains, tenesmus, and

excessive and painful purging, the stools being occasionally bloody; but

pain, vomiting, &c., do not invariably occur. The pulse is generally

quick, small, feeble, and irregular--sometimes scarcely perceptible, and

the heart's action is irregular and tumultuous. The tongue is dry and

furred; the respiration difficult and panting; the urino-genital apparatus

is often affected; there is pain and difficult micturition, and sometimes

entire suppression of urine; faintings, coldness of the limbs, and cold

sweats, with other signs of debility, intervene. Itching, and eczematous

eruptions of the skin, trembling, painful cramps, and contractions of the

extremities, and violent convulsions often follow; and after these, a

greater or less prostration of strength, which induces a deceitful calm.

At length the heart's action abates, the skin becomes suffused with a cold

clammy sweat, and the sufferer dies from exhaustion. The progress,

succession, and precise character of the symptoms are modified by the

idiosyncrasy of the individual, the quantity of the poison, and the manner

in which it has been taken; and are seldom all present in the same person.

_Treatm._ If vomiting has commenced it should be promoted by tickling the

throat, and administering a large quantity of gelatinous hydrated peroxide

of iron, or other appropriate antidote, in divided doses, mixed with a

large quantity of warm or tepid water, strongly sweetened with sugar. If

vomiting has not commenced, which is rare, it must be excited by

administering 15 to 20 gr. of sulphate of zinc, or ipecacuanha (or in the

absence of these, a teaspoonful of flour of mustard) in a tumbler of tepid

water, and tickling the throat as before. If these means fail in rapidly

inducing copious vomiting, the dose must be repeated, or the stomach-pump

had recourse to. Altogether as much as 16 to 18 _oz._ of the hydrated

peroxide of iron may be administered. If the poison has been swallowed

several hours previously, and hence may have passed the pylorus, a strong

dose of castor oil or a purgative clyster may be administered, and, after

its action, another clyster containing the antidote. As soon as the

stomach and bowels are cleared, diuretics and sudorifics should be given

in abundance. Lastly, any remaining irritation must be relieved by

demulcent and soothing remedies; or if urgent, by slight general or local

bleeding, which cannot be earlier practised without danger; and opium,

camphor, and ether, followed by tonics, may be had recourse to, to recruit

the system.

_Lesions._ Redness and inflammation of the whole primæ viæ; and sometimes

of the mouth, fauces, and [oe]sophagus, but more usually the contrary.

Sometimes also, though seldom, there is no marked appearance of

inflammation in the stomach and intestines. The stomach is usually highly

injected, and frequently marked with extravasations; lungs gorged with

blood; mucous lining of trachea reddened; heart generally flabby, and

exhibiting deep red or blackish stains, and the right cavities more or

less loaded with blood; the conjunctiva is sometimes very vascular; and

redness, extravasation of blood, and effusion of serum is occasionally

seen in the brain. The blood is frequently, though not invariably, fluid

after death, and dark coloured. Under certain circumstances, the mucous

membrane of the stomach and intestines is lined with a multitude of

brilliant points or grains, which have been mistaken for arsenious

anhydride; but which, according to Orfila, are composed of fat and

albumen. Placed on burning coals, they decrepitate on drying, and produce

a species of explosion or detonation. These grains are also met with in

the stomach of persons who have not been poisoned. Digested in water, the

liquid obtained from them does _not_ show the presence of arsenic when

submitted to reagents.

_Ant._ In the order of their assumed efficiency:--MOIST PEROXIDE OF

IRON.--See under the preparations of IRON (Arsenici Antidotum, G.).

Hydrated or gelatinous sesquioxide or peroxide of iron (for an adult--a

tablespoonful, in water, every 8 or 10 minutes until 12 or 16 oz., or

more, have been taken). Hydrated sulphide of iron (as the last).

Gelatinous hydrate of magnesia (as the last). Calcined magnesia (taken as

the first). Salad or olive oil, or almond oil, and oil or fats generally

(ad libitum), are all highly effective in lessening, if not destroying the

action of arsenious anhydride.[81] Albumen (white of egg), or liquids

containing it (in cold water, ad libitum). Milk, wheat-flour, oatmeal

gruel (with water, ad libitum). Lime water, with milk (as the last).

Chalk, with milk and water (as the last). Infusion or decoction of bark,

or better, of nut-galls (as the last). Sugar or syrup (ad libitum). See

_Treatm._ (above); also the above substances under their respective heads.

[Footnote 81: Dr Blondlot, in a paper communicated to the Paris Academy of

Sciences, has come to the conclusion that the slightest quantity of greasy

matter in contact with arsenious anhydride reduces its solubility to about

1-20th of what it was before. This explains at once why, in certain

judicial investigations, arsenic has been sought for in vain in the liquid

contents of the stomach, when the food consisted partly of fatty

substances, such as broth, milk, &c. It likewise explains how arsenious

anhydride, taken in powder, may sometimes remain a long time in the

stomach before it produces any deleterious effect; since, in such cases,

its action is hindered by the presence of fatty matter. Jugglers often

swallow arsenic with impunity, because, according to Dr Blondlot, they

previously take the precaution to drink milk and eat fat bacon. Hence, in

cases of poisoning by arsenic, oils and fatty substances may be

administered as real antidotes, capable of suspending the action of the

poison for a considerable time, until more radical means of effecting a

cure can be applied. The people engaged in some of the arsenic-works

regard salad oil as almost a certain antidote to this poison.]

_Uses, &c._ Arsenious anhydride and its compounds are extensively employed

in the arts and medicine. It is used by the dyer, it furnishes the artist

with several of his most beautiful pigments, and the glass-maker and

enameller with a flux or material to whiten and decolour their wares. In

_agriculture_, it is used (in solution) as an anti-smut for seed-wheat;

and as an anti-vermin lotion or dipping for sheep and cattle. In small

(therapeutical) doses it is a valuable remedy in intermittent fevers,

chronic skin diseases (especially lepra and psoriasis), and in several

nervous affections (as neuralgia, epilepsy, chorea, tetanus, &c.). It is

the active ingredient of the tasteless ague-drop; of Fowler's and

Pearson's solutions; and in the Tanjore pills, long celebrated in India

for the cure of the bite of the cobra di capello and other venomous

serpents, as well as of hydrophobia. It has been given in syphilis,

chronic rheumatism, typhus, and several other diseases, with more or less

advantage. Cautiously administered in phthisis, it frequently restores the

appetite and strength and greatly retards, and in some cases arrests, the

progress of the disease. It has been recently used to relieve toothache

arising from caries. Externally, it is employed in the form of powder,

lotion, and ointment, for the cure of cancer. Plunkett's ointment, Pâte

arsénicale, Davidson's Remedy for Cancer, and several other like

preparations, owe their activity to arsenious anhydride. Water in which

white arsenic has been steeped has become a favorite cosmetic wash with

many ladies, since its assumed property of softening the skin was

announced in a certain popular periodical. It is also the prime ingredient

in the papier moure, a popular fly paper. Its use, whether internal or

external, is, however, attended with considerable danger in unskilful

hands, and should, therefore, never be adopted but under proper

advice.--_Dose_, 1/20 to 1/8 gr., made into pills with crum of bread and

lump sugar; or in solution, 3 to 5 or 6 drops, twice or thrice daily,

gradually and cautiously increased to 12, or even 15 drops. As a rule,

arsenical preparations should be taken soon after a meal, and by no means

on an empty stomach. (Dr A. T. Thomson.) The dose should be suspended, or

greatly reduced, as soon as the conjunctiva is affected (Hunt); or if

dryness of the mouth or throat, or irritation of the stomach or bowels,

ensues. Mr Maculloch found the pills more efficacious than the solution;

they act differently, and cannot be substituted for one another.

Arsenic is a favorite tonic and alterative with farriers, who often

administer it very carelessly to horses, to the serious injury of these

animals. It is also a favorite with grooms, who have imbibed the notion

that small doses of it contribute to improve the condition of the skin.

The best-informed veterinarians, however, either wholly avoid it, or use

it with very great caution.[82]--_Dose_ (for a HORSE), 2 to 5 or 6 gr.,

twice or thrice daily; in farcy or glanders, 10 to 12 gr. In solution it

is often employed as a wash or dipping to destroy vermin in cattle and

sheep; but its use is not free from danger, particularly to the shepherds

or dippers.

[Footnote 82: "As a therapeutic agent for horses, arsenious acid can be

well dispensed with. It is, however, employed by some as a tonic, in doses

of from 10 to 20 gr. daily; and by others as a vermifuge. When

injudiciously administered death has been the result. By those of the old

school it is extolled as a caustic, and a very powerful one doubtlessly it

is; but there is this disadvantage attending its use--we cannot control

its action, and, oftentimes, a most extensive and painful wound is caused

by it. Occasionally it is resorted to for the eradication of warts;

although a better plan is to extirpate them at once with the knife. When,

however, this is inadmissible, 1 part of arsenious acid, in very fine

powder, may be mixed with 4 parts of lard, and a (small) portion of the

compound applied, with friction, over and around the excrescence every

other day, for three or four times. This will excite such a powerful

sloughing action, that in about 10 days the warts will be thrown off."

(Prof. Morton.)]

_Gen. commentary._ The necessary length of the preceding article, owing to

the great importance of the subject in its relations to toxicology and

medical jurisprudence, has left us little space for further remark here.

In addition to what has been said on arsenical testing, it may be useful

to caution the reader of the absolute necessity of only employing tests

and reagents which are themselves absolutely pure; and in which the

operator has, by personal examination, failed to detect the slightest

trace of arsenic. Commercial sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids,

potash, soda, nitre, iron, and zinc, frequently contain arsenic; from

which, however, they may be freed by chemical processes; or they may be

purchased in the pure state from respectable dealers in chemicals. But no

assurance of the vender should be regarded as a proof of their purity. In

all judicial investigations the absence of arsenic in the several tests

and reagents, and the apparatus employed, must be demonstrated and sworn

to. We may further add, that the results afforded by no single test can be

depended on. In matters of such vast importance, the most ample

confirmatory evidence must be sought.

Marsh's, Reinsch's, Lassaigne's, the sulphur, and the Reduction Tests, and

their modifications, are those now generally preferred by toxicological

chemists; each of which, with its confirmatory tests, are amply sufficient

for the indisputable identification of arsenic.

Modern toxicologists have abandoned most of the old processes for the

detection of arsenic, and have adopted one of two, which have been found

more expeditious as well as more certain. These are the tests of Marsh and

Reinsch, preferably the latter.

HERAPATH'S METHOD is to obtain deposits by Reinsch's Test on 4 or 5 pieces

of No. 13 copper wire; each piece being about 2-1/2 inches long, and

previously flattened and planished with a polished hammer for about one

half its length. The deposit, with some of the adhering copper, scraped

from one of these coated pieces, is sealed up hermetically in a tube for

future production. The scrapings from three pieces of wire are separately

submitted to the sublimation test in tubes bent in the form of an obtuse V

capillary at one end, and about 3/10ths of an inch in diameter at the

other; the capillary leg being about three times as long as the larger

one. The scrapings are placed in the bent part of the tube; and the flame

of a small spirit lamp is so applied as to slowly drive the sublimate into

the narrower portion of the tube, which is held rather higher than the

other. If the deposit so obtained be mercury, it condenses in white

shining globules;--if lead or bismuth, it does not rise but melts into a

yellowish glass, which adheres to the copper; if tellurium, it falls as a

white amorphous powder; if antimony, it does not rise at that low

temperature; but if it be arsenic, it sublimes as arsenious anhydride,

which condenses as minute octahedral crystals, looking, with the

microscope, like very transparent grains of sand. One of these tubes

containing the sublimed arsenious anhydride is then sealed up, like the

first one, for future production. The capillary part of another tube

containing the sublimate is then cut off, and carefully boiled in a few

drops (10 to 15) of distilled water; and, when cold, 3 or 4 drops of the

resulting solution is poured on a plate of white porcelain, and to this,

by means of a glass rod, one drop of solution of ammoniacal sulphate of

copper is added. The mixture is then carefully conducted on to a piece of

white filtering-paper set on the surface of a smooth, clean, and dry

chalk-stone, by which the moisture is absorbed, and the smallest portion

of Scheele's green produced by the test rendered more conspicuous. The

ammonio-nitrate of silver test is then applied, in a similar manner, to 3

or 4 drops of the remaining solution; after which the pieces of paper with

the spots are dried, and sealed up in separate tubes, as before, observing

to exclude the light from that containing the yellow precipitate of

arsenite of silver. A stream of sulphuretted hydrogen is then passed

through the remaining tube containing the arsenical sublimate, by which

the latter is converted into the yellow tersulphide--this too is sealed

up. Here are now five tests--the metal, the acid, arsenite of copper,

arsenite of silver, and yellow tersulphide of arsenic.

It is now well known that certain soils contain arsenic, either as

arsenite of lime or sulphide of arsenic; and which, under favorable

circumstances, may permeate or be absorbed by a body, after interment. In

judicial investigations following disinterment it is, therefore, necessary

to examine portions of the cemetery-earth taken from the grave, as well as

from parts more or less distant from it. For this purpose the earth should

be thoroughly dried in a water-bath, drenched with pure and concentrated

hydrochloric acid, and allowed to stand for twenty-four hours. The mixture

is then distilled, and the distillate tested for arsenic by Reinsch's or

Marsh's test. Should the product of one distillation yield no evidence of

arsenic, it should be returned to the retort, if necessary, a second or

even a third time, and the distillation repeated.

The practice of employing an alkaline solution of white arsenic as an

anti-smut steep for wheat, has lately arrested the attention of chemists.

M. Audouard states that he has detected traces of arsenic in the crops

raised from seed-wheat thus treated. But that which appears to be likely

to prove much more dangerous is the introduction of arsenic into crops by

the employment of crude superphosphate of lime as manure--a substance

often rich in this poison. Dr Edmund Davy positively states that arsenic,

as it exists in artificial manures, is taken up by plants growing where

those manures have been applied! He found cabbages and turnips taken from

fields manured with superphosphate give unmistakeable evidence of being

'arseniated.' These facts have some important bearings; for though the

quantity of arsenic which occurs in such manures is not large when

compared with their other constituents, and the proportion of that

substance which is thus added to the soil must be necessarily small, still

plants during their growth, as in the case of the alkaline and earthy

salts, take up a considerable quantity of this substance. Further, as

arsenic is well known to accumulate in soils, though not an accumulative

poison in the animal system, the effects after some time will probably

be, that vegetables raised on those continuously so manured will

ultimately be found to contain such a proportion of arsenic as will

exercise an injurious effect on the health of man and animals. The

statement of M. Audouard has been disputed by M. Girardin, because he

failed to detect arsenic in corn under the circumstances; and it is also

denied by Dr A. S. Taylor, and others; but our own experiments, very

carefully performed, confirm the assertions of both Audouard and Davy. The

ultimate consequences of pouring into the Thames such enormous quantities

of disinfectants contaminated with arsenic, as has been done during the

last three or four years, is another matter deserving consideration, and

one which has been ably pointed out by Dr Letheby, in his reports as

Officer of Health to the City of London.

Dr Lois has found arsenic, often in large quantities, in ordinary brass,

and brass utensils; and we have ourselves repeatedly found arsenic in the

Britannia-metal, German-silver, and other cheap white alloys at present in

such general use.

The preceding facts are recommended to the careful attention of medical

jurists.

By an Act of Parliament[83] it is provided--1. That every vender of

arsenic shall, before the delivery of the same to the customer, enter in a

book or books kept for the purpose, the date of sale, name, and residence

of the purchaser, in full, his or her condition or occupation, the

quantity so sold, and the purpose or purposes for which it is required, in

a form set forth in the schedule to the Act; which form or schedule shall

be signed by the vender, and by the said purchaser, unless he be unable to

write, when such fact shall be recorded in the said schedule by the

vender; and this schedule, when a witness is required to the sale, shall

also bear his signature, together with his place of abode:--2. Arsenic is

not to be sold to a stranger, unless in the presence of a witness

acquainted with both vender and purchaser:--3. No person to sell arsenic

unless it be previously mixed with at least 1 _oz._ of soot or 1/2 _oz._

of indigo to the pound; unless such admixture would be injurious to the

object for which it is intended, when not less than 10 _lbs._ is to be

sold at any one time:--4. Penalty for evading the Act, either as vender,

purchaser, or witness, £20:--5. Act not to extend to arsenic used in

compounding prescriptions nor to the wholesale trade:--6. The word

'arsenic' to include 'arsenious anhydride,' and the arsenites, arsenic

acid and the arseniates, and all other colourless poisonous preparations

of arsenic. See ARSENIC, ARSENIC ACID, LOTIONS, PILLS, SHEEP-DIPPING,

SOAPS, SOLUTIONS, WHEAT-STEEPS, IRON, POTASSA, SODA, and other Bases, &c.

&c. (also _below_).

[Footnote 83: 16{?} Vict., c. xiii, 1851.]

=Self-detect'ing Arsenious Anhydride.= _Prep._ (Dr Cattell.)--1. Ordinary

white arsenic to which is added a small quantity of a mixture of dry

calomel and quick-lime; or of dried sulphate of iron and powdered

gall-nuts. The product is white, but immediately turns black when mixed

with liquids:--2. As the last, but adding a mixture of thoroughly dried

sulphate of iron and ferrocyanide of potassium. Strikes a blue:--3. As

last, but using dried phosphate of sodium and dried sulphate of iron.

Strikes a green. Proposed as a method of preventing arsenic being used as

a poison.

=ARSENICAL PIGMENTS, EFFECTS OF.= The composition of those substances

which are compounds of copper with arsenious, very frequently combined

with acetic acid, will be found under GREEN PIGMENTS, under their

respective commercial names of SCHEELE'S GREEN, MINERAL GREEN, EMERALD

GREEN, and SCHWEINFURT GREEN. The purity of tint and durability of these

arsenical salts have, not unnaturally, caused them to be employed in many

branches of industry, the products of which are everywhere around us, and

as the colouring material of these, they are placed in conditions very

favorable to their being taken into the stomach or lungs. This will be

apparent when we name a few of the materials in which they are

employed:--wafers, candles, wall-papers, window curtains, confectionery.

A curious illustration of the risks attending their use may be cited from

the 'Medical Times and Gazette' of April, 1854, which states that some

loaves found to contain arsenic were discovered on inquiry to have got the

dangerous intruder from having been allowed to stand on shelves freshly

painted a bright green colour. Arsenical-coloured wafers may be pronounced

free from danger, so long as they are kept out of the reach of children;

and although the arsenical vapours given off by burning a green wax taper

would not be sufficient to induce toxic results, the fact of the extreme

sensibility of some people to the action of this poison, when taken in by

the lungs, renders the use of these tapers a very objectionable one,

particularly if they are generally employed in a household. The burning of

wax candles, coloured with arsenical green, is, of course, still more

strongly to be condemned, because from its superior mass, when compared

with the taper, the candle gives off a greater amount of the poisonous

fumes. An arsenical taper weighing 17·69 grains was found upon analysis by

Mr Bolas, late of Charing Cross Hospital, to contain 0·276 grains of

arsenious acid. "A Christmas tree," says Mr Blyth, "brilliantly

illuminated with Christmas candles, may be taken as an extreme instance of

the danger likely to arise from this source." That the employment of

arsenical green in the manufacture of sweetmeats was not abandoned in 1873

may be evidenced from a circumstance quoted by Mr Blyth in his interesting

work on 'Hygiène.' "During the Christmas of 1873 a large cake in which was

imbedded a green card labelled "for the bairnies," was seized in a

baker's shop at Greenock. The card was coated with sugar, and on being

submitted to analysis, was found to contain 7·04 grains of arsenious acid.

A curious case, illustrating the effect of arsenical wall-papers, is

furnished by Dr Dalzell, of Malvern. He was attending a lady ill with

scarlet fever, and during the attack her husband occupied a small bedroom.

The first night he slept in it his slumbers were most unrefreshing and

disturbed by horrible dreams, and on rising in the morning he felt languid

and weak, had lost his appetite, and had a dull headache. Towards the

evening these unpleasant symptoms had nearly vanished. On the second night

(when he occupied the same dormitory) and on the day following the same

disagreeable symptoms returned. He then changed his bedroom, and forthwith

they troubled him no more. A servant, who next occupied the chamber, was

affected as her master had been. Dr Dalzell suspecting the wall-paper as

the cause, examined it, and found it to contain a large quantity of

arsenic.

Some little time since Mr Bolas examined a sample of wall-paper containing

27·53 grains of arsenious acid in the square foot, and in this case the

pigment was so loosely fixed that the slightest friction was sufficient to

detach a portion and diffuse it through the air. Nor is this surprising

when we consider how slightly the arsenical colour is attached to the

surface of the paper, as well as how easily it may become liberated from

it by the desiccation of the air of the room when heated by a fire. This

may be exemplified by drawing the sleeve of a black or dark-coloured coat

over an arsenical wall-paper, and observing the green deposit that is left

on the garment.

After this we shall be prepared for the following statement: "Hamberg

drew, by means of aspirators, the air of a room, the walls of which were

papered with a very old green paper, through various tubes containing

cotton wool and silver nitrate. On examination scarcely any solid

particles could be discovered. The cotton-wool was fused with sodium

nitrate and carbonate, and gave a little ferric oxide and a trace of

arsenic, but the solution of nitrate of silver gave decided evidence of

arsenic, as well as of sulphide of silver." ('Phar. Jour.')

Not many years since Professor Fleck showed that the arsenious acid in the

Schweinfurt green, when in contact with moist organic substances, and

especially starch-sizing, forms arseniuretted hydrogen, which diffuses in

the room, and which is no doubt the cause of some of the cases of

arsenical poisoning from green papers. So that a contrary condition to a

dry atmosphere, viz. a moist or damp one, may also lead to results nearly,

if not quite as objectionable, when rooms are papered with arsenical

papers. We have Mr Blyth's word for the assertion, that the most dangerous

of the arsenical papers, viz. those covered with a thick, unvarnished,

loosely coherent layer of Seheele's green are most frequently to be met

with in our nurseries, where the beds are placed next the wall, and where

the attrition of the bedclothes frequently removes portions of the

poisonous colouring matter. The fine cupro-arsenical dust which thus

becomes diffused through the room, now and then produces in children

symptoms resembling those of violent catarrh. Some of the wall-papers of

these nurseries have been found to yield 18 grains of arsenious acid in a

square foot. It would appear that the use of arsenical pigments is by no

means restricted to green wall-papers. Very recently an analytical chemist

examined a great number of samples of wall-papers of different colours,

and was surprised to find arsenic in most of them. Within the last year

the writer examined the pigment which he could disengage without much

difficulty from a very small piece of green muslin window curtain, and

found it yield a large quantity of arsenic. In Paris alone there are more

than 15,000 people who earn their living by making artificial flowers, a

quarter at least of these workers being engaged in that branch of the

manufacture in which Schweinfurt green is used. From the instances already

adduced of the ill effects caused, although in a mild degree, by

occasional and accidental exposure to arsenical pigments, we shall be

prepared to learn that the danger and the damage to health is very much

more intensified when, as in the case of these poor artisans, the workman

is constantly handling the deadly material, and incessantly inhaling an

atmosphere laden with its particles. Dr Vernois has published a most

interesting description, which we subjoin, of the artificial flower-maker

at work. He says:--"These greens are formed either from arsenite of copper

alone, or mixed in variable proportions with acetate of copper (English

green). Arsenical greens are employed to colour different herbs, to tint

the fabric destined to prepare the leaves of artificial flowers, as they

are painted directly on the leaves or petals of flowers worked on cloths

of various textures. For these various purposes they buy the Schweinfurt

or the English green (vert Anglaise), either in powder or in aqueous

solution, and add to it, according to the effect desired, a certain

quantity of Flanders glue, starch, gum, honey, or turpentine. Sometimes it

is applied in the dry state, in order to sprinkle it over the things

already coloured by the arsenical green. They frequently also, in order to

modify the colour, mix with it a certain quantity of chromate of lead or

picric acid.

_The preparation of herbs_ is carried on as follows:--The workman plunges

into a shallow vessel, containing a sufficiently liquid solution of

Schweinfurt green, one or several stalks of natural plants, perfectly

dried, and agitates them quickly, seizing them by their roots with a pair

of forceps. This operation, which is termed 'steeping,' stains the

fingers, the arms, the person, and the clothes of the workman, and the

surrounding objects are covered with traces of this kind of paint. The

plants thus prepared are hung on a line, and there allowed to dry for

thirty-four or forty-eight hours. At the end of that time all the stalks

are gathered and formed into bundles, which are used finally for bouquets.

Often enough, to satisfy some freak of fashion, they are sprinkled with

powdered arsenite of copper. This is the powdering. The bouquet-work

constitutes one of the principal dangers; for the colouring matter not

having been fixed by any mordant, detaches itself in the form of a fine

dust, which penetrates the skin of the hands, and which the workman

breathes constantly. This danger is still more increased when he handles

bouquets covered with arsenical powder. At other times, however, in the

manufacture of the plants, the Schweinfurt green is diluted with a

sufficient quantity of turpentine. In this way the colour takes a smooth

appearance, not altered by contact with water, and does not escape

immediately in the form of powder by gentle handling; but when it is

thoroughly dry it falls to the ground in little flakes, and may again rise

in the air with ordinary dust. Thus the danger is modified, a little

retarded, but always exists. There are then in this speciality of the

florist the operations of steeping, drying, powdering, and arranging the

flowers for bouquets, which in their details place the workman or the

purchaser under the more or less direct, and more or less active influence

of arsenical salt. This particular industry is exercised under conditions

which render it still more injurious; for it is freely practised by a

number of poor workpeople, by households living in one or two rooms,

ill-ventilated, ill-lighted, and which they never sweep, and of which the

floor like the furniture, and like the clothing of the workpeople, is

continually impregnated by pigment and covered with arsenical dust. The

preparers of the cloth destined for the manufacture of the artificial

leaves by the aid of arsenical greens, comprehend the portion of the work

most exposed to deleterious action. They use arsenite of copper alone,

mixed principally with starch, and in rare instances associated with

acetate of copper in variable proportions. Some use _eublèe_, a mixture of

picric acid and of greenish indigo, in which they steep their stuffs.

Other manufacturers use fabrics prepared with hot solutions by ordinary

dyers. According to the hue which the Schweinfurt dyer wishes to obtain,

the workman commences by giving the stuff a yellow shade, by plunging it

into a solution of picric acid and pure alcohol. He squeezes it between

his fingers, in order to completely impregnate it and dries it. It is this

preliminary operation which stains the workman's fingers yellow.

Frequently the latter mixes picric acid by grinding it with the

Schweinfurt green, and applies this paste immediately to the fabric. The

paste is prepared by kneading the Schweinfurt green, already treated with

water, with a solution of starch thick enough, yet sufficiently liquid, to

be easily spread on the cloth. During this working up the paste the

fingers, arms, and hands of the workman are covered with arsenical

solution. This being ready, the workman lays out his stuff, distributes

the paste over it, then beats it between his hands, in order to make the

colouring matter thoroughly penetrate the cloth. The longer it is beaten

the better is the quality of the article. During this operation the skin

of the hands and arms is completely impregnated with the solution.

Sometimes the cloth, having been touched here and there with arsenical

paste, is attached to a hook in the wall, and twisted different

ways--wrung as it were. In this way a very uniform colouring is obtained.

This process is as bad to the workman as the former. Lastly, a process

which is generally practised consists in placing the fabric, stained or

not with picric acid, on a wooden table, and distributing on both sides

the arsenical preparation with a brush, and then beating the stuff with a

thick rubber. In this way the hands and arms of the workman are much less

exposed to the paste than in the preceding processes. After the brushing

and beating of the fabric comes the drying, to which operation attention

must next be directed. Once impregnated with the green colour by whatever

process, the pieces in squares of about 1 metre 50 cent. are hung on

wooden frames, furnished with teeth, on which the borders of the cloth are

transfixed. During this simple operation the workmen stain themselves

much. When the stuffs are detached from the squares they are folded, and

from every crease falls a fine dust, which may then be carried into the

mucous membranes. The workmen then are liable to all the accidents of the

manufacturers of flowers, especially in the operations of kneading the

paste, or during the beating, brushing, drying, and folding of the cloths.

From the hands of the fabricator the fabrics are very often immediately

consigned to the manufacturers of artificial flowers, who press them,

figure them (that is to say, make the nerves), arm them with a wire, and

mount them with flowers. It may be at once understood how much all the

manipulations I have just mentioned are liable to develop the arsenical

dust. The paste has not been fixed on the stuffs by any mordant; the

starch with which it is mixed has given it a very brittle consistence, and

has predisposed it to be easily detached from the cloth.

The stamping is effected by putting a certain number of folded pieces one

above the other, and submitting them to the pressure of a stamping

instrument. Repeated blows of this instrument detach the paste in scales,

and cover with dust the fingers and person of the workman. A series of

small packets are taken from the stamping press, which contain, strongly

pressed together, from twelve to twenty-four leaves. They are passed on to

another workman, who is charged with the folding. This operation is

performed by holding the little bundle of leaves between the thumb and

index finger of the left hand.

The thumb of the right hand presses the edges quickly and sharply so as to

separate the leaves one from another, as you separate the leaves of a book

recently bound. During this process still more dust escapes. Then comes

the figuring, which by reason of successive blows applied to each leaf

covers the body of the operator with the same pulverulent material. Fixing

a wire to the leaves at their lowest part by the aid of gum follows that

operation.

Then the leaves are arranged together in dozens, and passed to the bouquet

manufacturers, who mount them. From thence they go to the milliners, who

adapt them to different articles of dress, and sell them to the public.

Through all this series of transformations there are the same

manipulations, the same production of dust, the same action on the skin

and mucous membrane, only in a decreasing degree, from the first preparer

to the milliner. There is, however, a process of preparing the cloth which

diminishes notably the severity and frequency of the evils of the

Schweinfurt green. It is that which immediately after the drying of the

stuffs submits them at once to the "calendrage." This operation causes the

arsenical paste to penetrate mechanically into the fibres of the stuff,

and gives it a smooth and glazed aspect, which only permits imperfectly

the production of the arsenical dust. This process renders the successive

workings of the cloth less injurious, but it would be an error to consider

it as inoffensive. During the action of the press, and especially during

the separating and the fixing of the flowers, a notable quantity of the

toxic dust is still produced. However well prepared the fabrics may be,

you have only to tear it, to detach the coating under the form of a

palpable powder.

It is only necessary to add that the waxing of the leaves, after they have

been separated and figured, and before putting them into bouquets,

constitutes a protecting envelope against the effects of the powdered

coating for workmen who then handle them, as well as for women who wear

them; but this film of wax is only applied, comparatively speaking, to a

small number of leaves, for it alters the green and vivacity of its

colour.

In the preparing of the stuffs in the process of drying, Dr Vernois

says:--A new condition and serious results appear. The multiplicity of

sharp points fixed in the wooden squares inevitably pricks and scratches

the skin of the workmen. An inoculation of the arsenical salt immediately

takes place, as if it had been practised experimentally. The skin

irritates and inflames, a vesicle first, then a large pustule covers the

orifice of the prick, and undergoes all the stages of inflammation, which

produces suppuration and often gangrene, below which a deep and painful

ulceration is developed--all the more tedious to heal as the inoculation

is renewed from day to day.

The action of picric acid mixed with the paste can only augment and

aggravate the irritation of the wounds. If the ulcerations are numerous

the workmen may absorb the arsenious acid and be liable to serious

results. I have seen a certain number of workmen with glandular

enlargements under the armpits, and the hands in such a state that they

were obliged to come to the hospital, where they were only cured after one

or several months of treatment. The aspect of the hand was then

characteristic to the greenish-yellow tint of all the skin, and especially

of the palmar aspect of the hands. To the greenish crust under the nails

was nearly always added a yellow colour of the nails, produced by the

repeated contact with picric acid.

When we add a generally diffused erythema, then a series of black points,

or of inflamed pustules, and sometimes a whitlow, we shall have a faithful

representation of the evils which most frequently present themselves in

the preparers of stuffs, for artificial flowers tinted with Schweinfurt

green.

Amongst the endeavours to counteract the evils entailed upon the workers

in this branch of industry may be mentioned the attempt to substitute

chrome for Schweinfurt green, as the less poisonous of the two substances,

and the ingenious process of M. Bérard-Zenzilin, which consists in

directly incorporating the arsenical colouring matter with a specially

prepared collodion.

=AR'SENIDE.= _Syn._ ARSEN'IURET; ARSENIURE'TUM (-i-[=u]-), L.; ARSÉNIURE,

Fr. A combination of arsenicum with a metal (including hydrogen), in

definite proportion.

=AR'SENITE= (-n[=i]te). _Syn._ AR'SENIS, L.; ARSENITE, Fr.; ARSENIGSÄURE

SALZ, Ger. A salt of arsenious acid.

=ART.= [Eng., Fr.] _Syn._ ARS (gen., ar'tis; pl., ar'tes), L.;

[Greek:¬technê], (tech'ne), Gr.; KUNST, Ger. Primarily, strength, power,

and hence also mental strength, skill; the application of knowledge or

power to effect a desired purpose; the power or ability of doing something

not taught by nature or instinct; practical skill guided by rules. SCIENCE

is knowledge--ART, practical skill in applying this knowledge. ART is

applied science; whilst SCIENCE is knowledge obtained by observation,

experience, and ratiocination. This distinction is nowhere more fully

seen than within the domain of chemistry, where knowledge, deduction,

great power of generalisation, and great expertness are necessary elements

of success. Art has filled the world with luxuries, conveniences, and

comforts; and art--the ARTS--useful or fine--are the safest and surest

civilisers of our race. See SCIENCE.

=ARTESIAN WELL.= A cylindrical perforation bored vertically down through

one or more strata of the earth till it reaches a porous bed of gravel

containing water, this fluid being placed under such incumbent pressure

that it rises up the perforation either to the surface, or to a convenient

height for the operation of a pump. When they rise to the surface these

wells are called spouting or flowing. The name of these wells is taken

from Artois, a province in the Departement du pays de Calais, where their

use was revived. They have been in use for a long time in Italy and in the

East. The accompanying drawing represents the manner in which rain may be

supposed to distribute itself when it falls upon a portion of the surface

of our globe. The figure represents a geological section, showing the

succession of the different strata.

[Illustration]

The figure is supposed to represent two beds, A, B, more porous, and

consequently more absorbent than the rocks by which they are

interstratified. The condensed dews and rains falling upon the distant

hills pass rapidly by the outcrops of the strata to the lower levels,

until the entire mass becomes thoroughly saturated with water. Supposing

two such beds as are represented in the section to exist, fully charged

with water, it is evident that if we bored down into them through the

rocks as represented at C, D, the water would rise through those wells or

borings, and spring out in the form of a jet to such a height above the

surface as is due to the height of the hills from which the water has been

obtained. The fountain derived from B would necessarily flow as much

higher as that derived from the bed A, as is the height of B above A.

For particulars as to the modes of constructing artesian wells, the reader

is referred to 'Traité sur les puits Artesiens,' by M Gamier, and to

'Considérations Géologiques et physiques sur la théorie des puits forcés,

ou fontaines Artésiennes,' by M. le Vicomte Hericart de Thury, and to

'Rudimentary Treatise on Well-digging, Boring, &c.,' by J. G. Swindell,

and also to Ure's 'Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines,' edited by

Mr Robert Hunt.

=ARTHANI'TINE= (-t[)i]n). [Eng., Fr.] _Syn._ ARTANITI'NE; ARTHANITI'NA, L.

A peculiar substance first obtained by M. Saladin, by the action of

alcohol on the tuberous stems of the herb _arthrani'ta_, or sow-bread. It

is acrid, colourless, and crystalline, and imparts its acridity to the

plant.

=AR'TICHOKE.= _Syn._ CIN'ARA, CYN'ARA; SCOL'YMUS, L.; ARTICHAUT, Fr.;

ARTISCHOCKE, Ger. The _cynara scol[)y]mus_ (Linn.), a thistle-like

perennial plant of the _nat. ord._ Compositæ (DC.). _Hab._ Southern

Europe; but now extensively cultivated in our gardens, for its 'bottom,'

or the sweet fleshy receptacle of its flowers, which is eaten as a pot

herb. These are soaked in brisk boiling in water, stalk-ends uppermost,

until tender; and take 1/2 to 1 hour according to their age. Sometimes

they are preserved in brine (PICKLED ARTICHOKES); and also after depriving

them of the 'choke' and spiny hairs and blanching them by immersion in

boiling water, by drying in the sun (DRIED ARTICHOKES; CULS D'ARTICHAUT,

Fr.), by which they retain their flavour for some time. Infusion of the

flowers, used with rennet.

As an esculent the artichoke resembles asparagus in its general

properties; but it is said to be more nutritious, and even more diuretic.

=Artichokes, Jeru'salem.= The _helianthus tuberosus_ (Linn.), a perennial

plant of the sun-flower family, and quite distinct from the preceding.

_Hab._ The Brazils. The appellation "Jerusalem" is believed to be a

corruption of the Italian word _girasole_--"a sunflower," to which

botanical family the plant belongs. It is cultivated in England for

culinary purposes. Roots (tubers) resemble the artichoke in flavour; but

are considered far from wholesome, being apt to produce flatulence and

dyspepsia. They are diuretic, and impart the odour of turpentine to the

urine. They are cooked by boiling (15 to 25 minutes, according to size),

or frying; in the former case served with melted butter. They are also

served mashed, like turnips. The flowers yield a volatile oil resembling

that of turpentine.

Composition of the Jerusalem artichoke from an analysis by Payen, Poisot,

and Fevry:--

Nitrogenous matter 3·1

Sugar 14·7

Inulin 1·9

Pectic Acid 0·9

Pectin 0·4

Cellulose 1·5

Fatty matter 0·2

Mineral matter 1·3

Water 76·0

-----

100·0

From the above it will be seen that this esculent contains no nitrogen.

=ARTIFICIAL FOODS.= See FARINA.

=ASARABAC'CA= ([)a]s-[)a]-). _Syn._ AS'ARUM, A. EUROPÆ'UM: (Linn.),

NAR'DUS MONTA'NA*, &c., L.; ASARET, A. D'EUROPE, CABARET, AZARUM C., NARD

SAUVAGE, OREILLE D'HOMME, &c., Fr.; HAZELWURTZEL, Ger. The [Greek: asaron]

of Dioscorides, a small round, hard, stemless, hardy herbaceous plant,

bearing chocolate-coloured flowers; and of the nat. ord. Aristolochieæ

(DC.). It grows freely in central France, and is found in woods and shady

places in Lancashire, Westmoreland, and other parts of England. _Hab._

Europe, between 37° and 60° latitude.--Root & rhizome (AS'ARI RA'DIX) has

a pepper-like odour and an acrid taste:--Leaves (A. FO'LIA) less odorous,

though bitter-tasted, acrid, and aromatic; formerly officinal in the

pharmacop[oe]ias:--Whole plant (ASARABACCA of the shops) nauseant, emetic,

and purgative. Before the introduction of ipecacuanha it was the common

emetic (6 to 9 of the green leaves in whey); but, owing to the violence of

its action, it has long fallen into disuse. Its common name in France

(CABARET, or public-house plant) is said to have arisen from its frequent

employment to relieve the stomach of those who had drunk too hard. It is

now almost solely used as a sternutatory or errhine, and is probably one

of the best.

According to Gräger[84], asarabacca contains three volatile, oily

principles, which may be obtained by distillation with water:--VOLATILE

OIL (o'leum as'ari):--AS'ARITE, an odourless, tasteless, and crystalline

solid; fusible and volatilisable, yielding white and very irritating

fumes:--AS'ARUM-CAM'PHOR, differing chiefly from the last in being

precipitated, by water, from its alcoholic solution in cubes or six-sided

prisms, instead of delicate flexible needles. Also a brownish, bitter,

crystallisable principle (AS'ARINE, AS'ARUM-BIT'TER), which is soluble in

alcohol.

[Footnote 84: Gobel and Kemze, 'Pharm. Waarenk,' 1830-1.]

_Uses, Dose, &c._ Dried leaves, 20 to 30 gr., or root, 10 to 12 gr.; as a

purge or emetic. As an errhine--leaves, 3 to 5 gr.; root, 1 to 3 gr.; in

powder, snuffed up the nose every day, or every other day, at bedtime. It

excites irritation and a copious watery discharge, more or less muculent,

which frequently continues to flow for several days, and occasionally

proves highly useful in certain affections of the brain, eyes, mouth,

nose, ear, and throat, on the principle of counter-irritation. It has been

found "particularly serviceable in cephalalgia (headache), obstinate

headache, chronic ophthalmia (inflammation of the eyes), and some other

lethargic affections." (Dr A. T. Thomson.) In dimness of sight (especially

that arising from fatigue or congestion), deafness, and slight paralytic

affections of the mouth, tongue, lips, or eyelids, not of a serious

organic character, and particularly in chronic earache, it also sometimes

affords relief after other remedies have failed. It constitutes the basis

of several CEPHALIC SNUFFS, ASARABACCA-SNUFF, BARON MCKINSEY'S MEDICINAL

POWDER (or SNUFF), and several other like nostrums, which are much

extolled by their venders, and sold at marvellously high prices. See

PATENT MEDICINES, POWDERS, SNUFFS, &c. (also _below_).

=AS'ARIN= (-r[)i]n). C_{20}H_{26}O_{5}. _Syn._ ASARONE. A species of

stearopten, discovered by Görtz, in asarabacca. It has an aromatic taste

and an odour resembling camphor, and is said to be emetic. It is probably

a mixture of asarum-camphor and some partially oxidised volatile oil. (See

_above_.)

=As'arine= (of Gräger). _Syn._ ASARI'NA, L. The crystallisable bitter

principle of asarabacca, noticed above. It is said to greatly resemble

cytisine.

=AS'ARITE= (-r[=i]te). See ASARABACCA.

=ASBES'TOS.= _Syn._ ASBES'TUS ([Greek: asbestos], incombustible,

unconsumable, Gr.), AMIANTH'US, LA'PIS A., &c., L.; ASBESTE, AMIANTE, Fr.;

ASBEST, STEINFLACHS, Ger. In _mineralogy_, a soft, fibrous substance,

composed of flexible or elastic filaments which, in their most highly

developed form, greatly resemble those of flax or silk, and which bear

exposure to a very considerable degree of heat without suffering

decomposition. It has been proposed to clothe our firemen in dresses of

asbestos; but without freedom of respiration could be insured in a heated

and poisonous atmosphere, this envelope would be of little service. Gloves

are sometimes made of it, for holding red-hot crucibles. It is also used

as a filtering medium for corrosive liquids. A kind of felt made of

asbestos is now used as a substitute for wire gauze to support beakers,

retorts, &c., over lamps.

_Var._ Of these there are several; as AM'IANTH or ELAS'TIC ASBESTOS,

LIG'NIFORM A., MOUNTAIN-CORK, M.-LEATHER, M.-WOOD, &c.; varying from a

grey, brown, or green colour, to pure white, and from extreme flexibility

and softness, to rigidity and hardness, as indicated by the respective

names.

=ASCARIS LUMBRICOIDES.= A parasite belonging to the genus _entozoa_,

commonly known as the round worm, and found in the intestines of man, the

horse, the ox, the pig, and some other of the lower animals. It is of a

greyish-red colour and in size and general appearance like the common

earthworm.

Children are very frequently infested by them. Their usual habitat is the

small intestines. But they are occasionally found in the stomach, and

have been known to transport themselves into the gall-ducts, frontal

sinuses, nostrils, and mouth. The males are smaller than the females and

much more rare. The females produce eggs in great numbers, but it is

doubtful if the young are ever developed in the intestine in which the

parent worm dwells.

It is probable that the ova gain access to the intestines of the animals

of which they eventually become the pests from various outer sources. They

are said to be very frequent in persons who partake much of raw leaves and

roots. Dr Paterson, of Leith, noticed that families who drank certain

water from a well supplied from a dirty pool, which contained various

vermiform animalcules, were much infested with this particular species of

intestinal worm; whilst others in the same street, who had recourse to a

different water supply, entirely escaped. For medicinal treatment, see

WORMS.

=ASCARIS MYSTAX.= A parasitic round worm infesting the cat. It has been

also occasionally found in man.

=ASH.= _Syn._ FRAX'INUS, L.; FRÊNE, Fr.; ESCHE, Ger. The popular name of

several species of valuable hardy trees bearing apetalous flowers (except

in the 'flowering ash'), belonging to the nat. ord. Oleaceæ (DC.), and

gen. Fraxinus; but appropriately the--

=Ash.= _Syn._ COMM'ON ASH; FRAX'INUS, F. EXCEL'SIOR (Linn.), F. APET'ALA

(Lamb.), F. OR'NUS (Scop.), L.; FRÊNE, F. COMMUN, Fr.; GEMEINE ESCHE, Ger.

A large tree common to our woods and hedges; timber (ASH or ASH-WOOD) used

by carpenters, cabinet-makers, and machinists, and much esteemed for its

great toughness and elasticity; bark febrifuge, diuretic, resolvent, and

tonic; has been successfully exhibited in agues; seeds acrid, bitter, and

diuretic; leaves purgative, diuretic, and febrifuge; sometimes used

instead of senna. In southern Europe it exudes an inferior kind of MANNA,

and its medicinal properties are much greater than in our

climate.--_Dose._ (Leaves) 1/4 _oz._ to 1-1/2 _oz._ (made into an

infusion), as a purge; seeds, 1 dr., as a diuretic, &c.

=Ash, Flow'ering.= _Syn._ MAN'NA-ASH; FRAX'INUS OR'NUS (Linn.), L. A small

tree of southern Europe. Yields MANNA. The 'round'-leaved flowering-ash'

(CALA'BRIAN-ASH; FRAX'INUS ROTUNDIFO''LIA, Lamarck) is a smaller variety

of the preceding, and a native of Calabria and the Levant. Said to yield

the best MANNA. The 'small'-leaved flowering-ash' (FRAX'INUS PARVIFO''LIA,

Lam.) is another manna-yielding species, indigenous to Asia Minor.

=ASH.= Ashes (which _see_).

=ASH-BALLS.= The ashes of land-plants, especially ferns, damped and made

into balls. Used as a substitute for soap in washing, and in cleaning

paint.

=ASH'ERY.= [Amer.] A place where potash or pearlash is made or kept.

=ASH'ES.= (-[)i]z). [Eng. pl.] _Syn._ ASH; CI'NIS, L.; CENDRES (_pl._),

Fr.; ASCHE, Ger. The remains of anything burned. In _antiquity_, the

remains of a body consumed on the funeral pyre; and hence, figuratively,

the remains of the dead. The word, in English, has properly no singular;

although 'ash' is very commonly heard; and is now almost exclusively used

in composition, as in pearlash, potash, soda-ash, &c.

=Ashes.= In _commerce_, the residuum of the combustion of vegetable

substances containing either carbonate of potassium ('land-plants'), or

carbonate of sodium ('marine plants'), and from which the commercial

alkalies are obtained. Their value depends upon their richness in

'alkali,' which is determined in the manner explained under ALKALIMETRY.

The word is also commonly employed as a general term for the crude

carbonates of potash of commerce (which _see_).

=Ashes of Plants.= See following page, on which will be found a table

giving the chemical composition of the ashes of a few well-known plants

used as food for men and animals. See also MANURES, PLANTS, VEGETATION,

&c.

A careful determination of the ash of different substances is of great use

to the analyst, by enabling him to detect adulteration; for instance,

almost every plant on being burnt yields a very constant amount of ash,

and not alone the quantity is constant, but the different proportions of

the various components are also, within certain limits, tolerably

unvarying. Many plants have the power of extracting from the soil certain

elements; for instance, the ash of the tobacco contains lithium; tea,

manganese; seaweed, iodine. It seems by no means improbable that by the

examination of the ashes of plants by means of the spectroscope new

elements may be discovered. Appended is a short list of the amount of ash,

contained in a few important substances:--

Total Ash.

Cayenne pepper, from 5 to 6 per cent.

Chicory " 5 "

Cocoa " 3 to 4 "

Coffee " 4 "

Flour " ·7 to 1·5 "

Mustard " 3 to 4·5 "

Pepper " 4·3 to 5 "

Rice " 5 "

Tea " 5·6 "

Turmeric " 5 to 6 "

The ashes of plants are employed by the agriculturist according as the

nature and proportion of the different salts they contain is suited to the

soil and to the crops it is desired to raise. M. SOULANGE BODIN says that

ashes hold the middle place between stable-dung and pasture manure. They

act mechanically by dividing soils that are too compact, hygroscopically

by absorbing moisture, and they appear to have an action similar to lime

in accelerating the decomposition of the mould. They also probably

exercise a stimulating effect on the soil. In the case of low-lying lands

they are particularly suited for very damp clayey soils. In Picardy the

ashes of turf are made use of; in England, the low countries and the north

of France, coal ashes are employed.

-----------+------+------+-------+---------+------+------+-------+-----+--------

| | | Red | |Wheat | | | |Turnip

| Peas.|Beans.|Clover.|Sainfoin.|Grain.|Straw.|Barley.|Oats.| Root.

-----------+------+------+-------+---------+------+------+-------+-----+--------

Potassa | 42·43| 36·72| 18·44| 31·90 | 29·76| 10·51| 20·07 |17·70| 23·70

Soda | 3·27| 0·14| 2·79| ... | 5·26| 1·03| 4·56 | 3·84| 14·75

Lime | 5·73| 12·06| 35·02| 24·30 | 2·88| 5·91| 1·48 | 3·54| 11·82

Magnesia | 5·92| 6·00| 11·91| 5·03 | 11·06| 1·25| 7·45 | 7·33| 3·28

Sesquioxide| | | | | | | | |

of Iron | 0·44| 0·65| 0·98| 0·61 | 0·23| 0·07| 0·51 | 0·49| 0·47

Sulphuric | | | | | | | | |

acid | 6·23| 4·28| 3·91| 3·28 | 0·11| 2·14| 0·79 | 1·10| 16·13

Silica | 1·74| 1·52| 4·03| 3·22 | 2·23| 73·57| 32·73 |38·48| 2·69

Carbonic | | | | | | | | |

acid | 4·38| 1·63| 12·92| 15·20 | 0·22| ... | ... | ... | 10·47

Phosphoric | | | | | | | | |

acid | 29·92| 33·74| 5·82| 9·35 | 48·21| 5·51| 31·69 |26·46| 9·31

Chloride of| | | | | | | | |

potassium| ... | ... | ... | 6·24 | ... | ... | ... | 0·92| ...

Chloride of| | | | | | | | |

sodium | ... | 3·26| 4·13| 0·78 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 7·05

-----------+------+------+-------+---------+------+------+-------+-----+--------

Total | | | | | | | | |

amount | 99·96|100·00| 99·95| 99·96 | 99·96| 99·99| 99·98 |99·96| 99·93

Per-centage| | | | | | | | |

of dry ash| | | | | | | | |

in dry | | | | | | | | |

substance | 2·60| 2·90| 7·87| 6·37 | 2·05| ... | 2·50 | 2·50| 6·00

Per-centage| | | | | | | | |

of ash in | | | | | | | | |

the fresh | | | | | | | | |

substance | 2·24| 2·54| 6·77| 5·65 | 1·81| ... | 2·25 | 2·27| 0·75

-----------+------+------+-------+---------+------+------+-------+-----+--------

-----------+-------+------+------+------+--------+-------+-------+------+-------

| | | | |Lettuce | | | |

| | | | |Leaves |Olive- | | |

|Turnip | Beet |Carrot|Pota- | and | tree | | |Clupea

|Leaves.| Root.| Root.|toes. |Stalks. |Wood. |Hops. |Hay. |Sprouts.

| | | | [85] | [86] | [87] | [88] | [89] | [90]

-----------+-------+------+------+------+--------+-------+-------+------+-------

Potassa | 11·56 | 21·68| 37·55| 25·41| 22·37 | 20·60 | 24·88 | 11·93| 17·23

Soda | 12·43 | 3·13| 12·63| ... | 18·50 | ... | ... | 1·07| 1·19

Lime | 28·49 | 1·90| 9·76| 2·34| 10·43 | 63·02 | 21·59 | 14·76| 23·57

Magnesia | 2·62 | 1·79| 3·78| 4·17| 5·68 | 2·31 | 4·69 | 5·30| 3·01

Sesquioxide| | | | | | | | |

of Iron | 3·02 | 0·52| 6·74| 0·50| 2·82 | ... | 1·75 | 2·75| 0·28

Sulphuric | | | | | | | | |

acid | 10·36 | 3·14| 6·34| 4·71| 3·85 | 3·09 | 7·27 | 0·20| ...

Silica | 8·04 | 1·40| 0·76| 3·64| 11·86 | 3·82 | 19·71 | 53·43| ...

Carbonic | | | | | | | | |

acid | 6·18 | 15·23| 15·15| ... | ... | ... | 2·17 | ... | ...

Phosphoric | | | | | | | | |

acid | 4·85 | 1·65| 8·37| 10·38| 9·38 | 4·77 | 14·47 | 6·34| 43·52

Chloride of| | | | | | | | |

potassium| ... | ... | ... | 12·40| ... | 1·09 | ... | ... | ...

Chloride of| | | | | | | | |

sodium | 12·41 | 49·51| 4·91| Trace| 15·09 | ... | 3·42 | 2·27| 11·19

-----------+-------+------+------+------+--------+-------+-------+------+--------

Total | | | | | | | | |

amount | 99·96 | 99·96| 99·99|100·00| 99·99 |100·00 | 99·95 |100·00|100·00

Per-centage| | | | | | | | |

of dry ash| | | | | | | | |

in dry | | | | | | | | |

substance | 16·40 | 11·32| 5·12| 4·86 | ... | 0·58 | 5·95 | 6·97| ...

Per-centage| | | | | | | | |

of ash in | | | | | | | | |

the fresh | | | | | | | | |

substance | 1·97 | 1·02| 0·77| ... | ... | ... | ... | 6·15| ...

-----------+-------+------+------+------+--------+-------+-------+------+-------

[Footnote 85: Griepenkerl.]

[Footnote 86: Griepenkerl.]

[Footnote 87: A. Müller.]

[Footnote 88: Way.]

[Footnote 89: Hubert.]

[Footnote 90: Way.]

Coal ashes, when mixed with excrement, besides disinfecting the latter,

make an excellent manure.

=ASPAR'AGIN= (-[)a]-j[)i]n). C_{4}H_{8}N_{2}O_{3}. [Eng., Fr.] _Syn._

ALTHE'INE, ASPAR'AMIDE, MAL'AMIDE*; ASPARAGI'NA, ASPARAGI'NUM, L.;

AGÉDOÏLE, Fr.; SPARGELSTOFF, Ger. A peculiar azotised principle discovered

by Vauquelin and Robiquet in asparagus, and since found in the potato,

marsh-mallow, liquorice, climbing vetch, and several other plants. Many

plants which do not naturally contain it may be made to yield it by

growing them in dark damp cellars; whilst many which only normally contain

it in very small quantities are found to yield much more when allowed to

vegetate in the same manner.

_Prep._ 1. From ASPARAGUS-SPROUTS:--The expressed juice, after being

heated to the boiling-point (to coagulate albumen) and carefully skimmed

and filtered, is evaporated, at a gentle heat, to a syrupy consistence,

and then abandoned to spontaneous evaporation in a warm dry atmosphere for

several days; the resulting crystals being purified by cautious washing

with very cold water or very strong alcohol, re-solution, and

re-crystallisation.

The following are cheaper and more convenient processes.

2. From MARSHMALLOW-ROOT:--_a._ The root (chopped small, or grated) is

macerated for several days in milk of lime, in the cold; the filtered

liquid precipitated with carbonate of ammonium, and the clear solution

evaporated in a water-bath, and otherwise treated as before.

_b._ From the expressed juice, 2 parts; milk of lime, 1 part; agitated

well together; the liquid portion, after some hours, being decanted,

filtered, and evaporated, &c., as before.

3. From the ETIOLATED SHOOTS OF VETCHES:--The expressed juice of the young

shoots when from 2 or 3 to even 12 or 15 inches long, is gently simmered

for 8 or 10 minutes, to coagulate the albumen; and, after straining or

clarification, the clear liquid is gently evaporated to the consistence of

a thin syrup, and set aside to crystallise, as before. The resulting brown

crystals are purified by washing with very cold water, re-solution in

boiling water, and re-crystallisation, as in No. 1; or, and what is

better, the hot liquid, before evaporation to a syrup, is digested for a

short time with a little pure animal charcoal in coarse powder, and then

filtered, when large and beautifully white crystals are obtained by the

first operation.[91] An excellent and very economical process.

[Footnote 91: This use of animal charcoal may also be advantageously

extended to the other formulæ. Mr C. G. Williams, in Ure's 'Dict. of Arts,

M., & M.,' 4th ed., directs the shoots to be used when of "a length of 2

inches;" but some authorities recommend them to be of 9, 12, or even 15

inches. The selection must, however, in many cases, depend upon

circumstances and convenience.]

_Prop., &c._ Crystals brilliant, transparent, colourless, right rhombic

prisms; neutral to test-paper; non-basic; having a faint, cooling, and

scarcely nauseous taste; scarcely soluble in cold water; freely soluble in

hot water; insoluble in strong alcohol and ether; solution unaffected by

alkaline sulphurets, oxalate of ammonia, acetate of lead, or infusion of

galls; triturated with quick-lime, ammonia is evolved; heated to 212°

Fahr. the crystals lose two equiv. or 12% of water; heated with water

under pressure in a closed vessel, or boiled along with an acid or an

alkali, or dissolved in a saccharine liquid and then submitted to

fermentation it is converted into ammonium and aspartic acid; aqueous

solutions of asparagin and aspartic acid treated with a current of nitrous

acid evolve pure nitrogen, with the formation of malic acid which remains

in solution. It was called asparamide under the impression that it is

aspartite of ammonia minus 1 atom of water; and malamide, for similar

theoretical reasons.

_Uses._ It is sedative and diuretic.--_Dose_, 1 to 6 gr.; in dropsies,

heart-affections, &c.

=ASPAR'AGUS.= [L., Eng.] In _botany_, a genus of low, spiny plants, with

scale-like leaves, many of which are shrubs and climbers, of the nat. ord.

Asparageæ (DC.).; Liliaceæ (Lindl.). The following species, which is that

best known in England, is, however, an exception to this description, as

it is neither climbing nor spinose.

=Asparagus Officina'lis.= [Linn.; L.] _Syn._ ASPAR'AGUS, COMM'ON A.,

GARD'EN A.; SPAR'AGUS§, SPAR'ROW-GRASS§, SPER'AGE[dagger]§; ASPERGE, Fr.;

SPARGEL, Ger. A well-known perennial plant, and one of the oldest and most

delicate of our culinary vegetables.--Young shoots, from the underground

eyes (TURIO'NES ASPAR'AGI, L.), the asparagus of our tables; diuretic;

communicate a peculiar f[oe]tid odour to the urine, and, when eaten in

excess, occasion bloody urine and accelerate fits of gout; formerly

esteemed emmenagogue and aphrodisiac.--_Root_ (RA'DIX ASPAR'AGI, L.),

properties resemble those of the young shoots, but stronger; one of the

five 'greater aperient roots' (RAD'ICES APERIEN'TES QUIN''QUE MAJO''RES,

L.) of old pharmacy. The tops and roots, though no longer officinal in the

British Pharmacop[oe]ias, are both occasionally employed as popular

remedies in dropsy and stone--the first being eaten in the usual way at

table; and the second made into an infusion or decoction (1/2 _oz._ to the

pint), taken ad libitum.

As an article of food, asparagus, in moderation, is both wholesome and

nutritious. It is cooked by simply boiling it rather quickly until tender,

like the other soft green vegetables; and is either served up plain, or

on toast with melted butter or sauce Hollandaise in a boat (Soyer;

Rundell.) When very small and green, it is frequently dressed and served

like green-peas, the tender portion of each shoot being cut into bits of

equal size, and about 1-3rd of an inch long. (Miss Acton.)

_Choice, &c._ "The large grass is generally preferred; although the

smaller has the fullest flavour for a dish." (Soyer.) Unlike other plants,

the asparagus officinalis has not produced a single well-marked permanent

variety by cultivation.[92]

[Footnote 92: "The young shoots of polygona'tum (Solomon's Seal), and

others, have been substituted for asparagus." (Lindley's 'Veg. King.,' 3rd

ed., 203.)]

=Asparagus Petræ'a.= [L.] _Syn._ ROCK'-ASPAR'AGUS; CORRUDA; ASPAR'AGUS

ACUTIFO''LIA, L,; CORRUDE, Fr. Resembles the last in its general

qualities; but is said to contain more asparagin.

=ASPAR'AMIDE= (-m[)i]d). See ASPARAGIN.

=ASPAR'TIC ACID.= HC_{4}H_{6}NO_{4}. _Syn._ MALAM'IC ACID; ACIDUM

ASPAR'TICUM, L.; ACIDE ASPARTIQUE, Fr. An acid first obtained, by Plisson,

from asparagin, by boiling it along with hydrate of lead or of magnesia.

Its salts are called ASPAR'TATES (Eng., Fr.; ASPAR'TAS, L. sing.) See

ASPARAGIN.

=AS'PEN= (-p[)e]n). _Syn._ ASP*, TREM'BLING POP'LAR[double-dagger];

POP'ULUS TREM'ULA (Linn.), L.; TREMBLE, Fr.; AESPE (äspe), &c. Ger. A

large tree, of the nat. ord. Amentaceæ; (DC.), not uncommon in the moist

woodlands of England, and found native on many of the Scottish mountains.

It derives its name from the trembling motion of its leaves, which, owing

to the peculiar flattening of the leafstalks, are agitated by the

slightest impulse of the air. Bark and leaves contain POP'ULIN associated

with SAL'ICIN. Both bark and leaves have been used with advantage in

strangury and intermittents.

=ASPHALT'= (-f[)a]lt'). Asphaltum.

=ASPHALT'UM.= [L., prim. Gr.] _Syn._ ASPHALT', COMPACT BITUMEN, MINERAL

PITCH, JEW'S PITCH, FOSS'IL BITU'MEN, VIT'REUS B., &c.; ASPHAL'TUS,

BITUMEN FOS'SILE (-e-le), B. JUDA'ICUM, B. SOL'IDUM, B. VIT'REUM,

MU'MIA[dagger], M. MINERA'LIS*, &c., L.; ASPHALTE, BITUME MASSIF, B.

SOLIDE, POIX JUIVE, &c., Fr.; ASPHALT, ERDPECH, JUDENPECH, &c., Ger. A

black, hard, brittle, and glossy variety of bitumen found on the shores of

the Dead Sea (hence called _La'cus Asphalti'tes_), on and near the shores

of the Great Pitch Lake of Trinidad, and as a mineral product in various

other parts of the world.

_Prop., &c._ Melts without decomposition, and, when pure, burns without

residue. It is distinguished from other varieties of bitumen by its more

difficult fusibility, and by its fracture being clean, conchoidal, and

vitreous. Distilled by itself it yields about 36% of a peculiar bituminous

oil (crude PETROLENE), together with combustible gases, traces of ammonia

and water. To anhydrous alcohol it yields 5% of a yellow resin, soluble in

rectified spirit and ether; by digesting the residuum in ether, a further

70% of a brownish-black resin is obtained, which is freely soluble in the

volatile oils and in about 5 times its weight of mineral naphtha. The

portion (25%) left undissolved by ether is very soluble in the oils of

turpentine and petroleum. These three resinous principles dissolve

altogether, when digested, in the oils of anise, rosemary, and turpentine,

and in the fixed oils. (John.) According to others, asphaltum consists

almost entirely of asphaltene. (Boussingault.) Paranaphthaline has been

found in some varieties. (M. Laurent.) Average sp. gr. 1 to 1·68. By

friction it affords negative electricity. It is soluble in oil of

turpentine, benzole, mineral and coal-tar naphtha, the fixed oils,

solutions of the caustic alkalies, and several other liquids, by the aid

of heat.

_Sources._ That of commerce is chiefly obtained from the shores of the

Dead Sea; but much of that of the shops is a spurious article of the most

worthless character. A short time since some specimens of the purest and

most beautiful description, from the Great Bitumen Lake of Trinidad, were

given us by our respected and venerable friend, the late Earl of

Dundonald, who stated that the supply of both liquid and indurated

bitumens, of every grade of quality, was unlimited from that source; but

that owing to injudicious importations of inferior kinds (those most

easily shipped), a prejudice had been created against them in the London

market. Our personal investigations have since confirmed the accuracy of

these statements.

_Uses._ The finer varieties are chiefly used as a 'glazing colour' by

artists, and in the manufacture of black varnishes and japans. The

inferior kinds are applied to the same purposes as ordinary solid bitumen.

The Egyptians used it in embalming under the name of MU'MIA; and the

Babylonian builders are said to have employed it, as a cement, in lieu of

mortar. It is, however, doubtful whether the hard semi-vitreous variety of

bitumen, properly termed 'asphaltum,' was that which was thus employed;

its present hardness being probably due to time. As a _medicine_ it is

stimulant; and it was formerly used as an ingredient in certain plasters

and ointments. See BITUMEN, PITCH, &c. A mixture of asphalt, chalk, sand,

ground sandstone, &c., is used as a pavement for making water-tight tanks

and covers, as a coating for gas and water pipes, and for various other

similar purposes. Sometimes the pitchy residue obtained by distilling off

the more volatile portions of gas tar is employed to replace the asphalt

in the foregoing mixture; the product is called artificial or gas-tar

asphalt.

=Asphaltum, Facti''tious= (-t[)i]sh-'[)u]s). _Syn._ ASPHAL'TUM

FACTI''TIUM, L. That of the shops, when not an inferior kind of true

asphaltum, is commonly made from the bottoms of Barbadoes tar, and other

mineral bitumens, by heating them until quite hard. Sometimes a little

Scio turpentine, balsam of copaiba, or even common resin, is added.

Colour, hardness, &c., inferior to those of native asphaltum.

=Asphaltum, Liq'uid.= _Syn._ PREPARED' ASPHALTUM; ASPHAL'TUM LIQ'UIDUM, L.

_Prep._ 1. Scio turpentine, 2 _oz._; melt; add asphaltum (in powder), 1

_oz._; mix, cool a little, and reduce with hot oil of turpentine.

2. (Wilson's.) Asphaltum, 1/2 _lb._; melt; add of hot balsam of copaiba, 1

_lb._; and, when mixed, thin it with hot oil of turpentine. Both are used

as 'black japan' or 'varnish,' and as a 'glazing colour' by artists.

=ASPHYX'IA= (-f[)i]k'-sh'[)a]; -f[)i]ks'-e-[)a][double-dagger]). [L., Gr.]

_Syn._ ASPHYX'Y[double-dagger] (-e), Eng.; ASPHYXIE, Fr.; PULSLOSIGKEIT,

SCHEINTOD, Gr. Literally, absence of pulse; hence, a fainting fit;

apparent lifelessness. Its use is now generally confined to a suspension

of vitality from some cause interrupting respiration, but in which life is

not actually extinct, and may, under favorable circumstances, be revived.