POINTS ABOUT POISON.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 126, 13 May 1911, Page 2 (Supplement)

POINTS ABOUT POISON.

HOW FASHIONABLE FOLK TTSED TO REMOVE THEIR FRIENDS. ■■TVhat ’ Not another poisoning case?” exclaims Mr. Grundy over his morning paper. And. indeed tho number of poisoning crimes that have occurred lately in various countries almost suggests that a wav. of secret poisoning is pas--Jn'"-* over the world, just as it did in the”l7th century. Tlv-n the art of the prisoner a rtxjAgnised. branch, of education with tlioue' who professed astrology and a knowledge of o«mlt sciences. There is tho instance mentioned in ■he memoirs of Henry, Duke of Guise, of a soldier who when requested to get rid of an enemy of the duke, shrank with horror at the mere idea of killing him with a dagger, but administered poison with quite an easy mind It. was’’some time after this oceurr< nee that poisoning became so f recur nt in Rome that the clergy broke the obligation of secrecy attached to the confessional, and informed Popo Alexander VIE of the state of things. GUARANTEED TO KILL.

It was found that numerous young widows, who nad recently Tost” husbands. assembled at the house of a repnV’d witch and fortune-teller of the period, who made it her business to s-ipplv them with a clear, slow, and irs’dious poison. This was guarantee.! tn kill in any given time, according to the purchaser’s wishes. The witch and thirteen companions were tried and hanged. , In England there has never been anvthing that will compare with tho poisoning era of Italy, although the secret poisoner was held in such terior in the reign of Henrv MH. that an net was passed declaring the crime high treason, and ordaining that those who (veto found guilty would be boiled to death. At the present time, although we may have a wave of poisoning crimes, like those of other offences, it would to impossible for such a state of things as obtained in the 17tli century to occur a-rain. For at that time they i-ncw next to nothing of chemical analvsis. Now science has advanced to such' an extent that there is. no poison. however obscure, that the skilled pathologist cannot detect. ■ Science has. however, sometimes been :it fault, with curious results. In Hie case of Dr. Smethurst, who was iried in 1859 for the murder of a Miss Hankes, from whom he had expectations, arsenic was suspected, and what is known as Reinsch’s test was applied. Briefly this consists of mixing a small quantity of hydrochloric acid with theliquid to be tested, which is then dropped into a piece of cdpper-gauze, when the presence of arsenic, if it is there, is detected. In Shethurst’s case arsenic was discovered, but after his conviction it was proved that this was contained in the wire gauze used for the experiment, and he was at once released by the Home Secretary. THE SEQUEL. There was. however, an extraordinxry sequel that was not made public for nniiiv years. After Dr. Smethurst had been pardoned it was discovered that be had found out that if a certain chemical, which for obvious reasons shall bo nameless, were mixed with arsenic Reinsch’s test would completely fail, and he had laid his plans accordingly, which were nearly over thrown by the accidental presence of arsenic, as mentioned above. A guilty man had escaped, but the Importance of the discovery far outweighed this fact, and caused a new test to be devised which the most skilful poisoner onnnot circumvent. CASTING GOLD IN DENTISTRY Dentists have a very clever methocl of making solid gold castings. A train < f gears is employed, which revolves a snindle that carries two jointed arms. The outer end of one arm has an enclosure whore the little mould is placed. while the other arm carries a counterbalance. Just in front of the mould i.~. a fire? lav block, hollowed to receive the gold which is incited with the blow-

pipe. Tho glaring is rapidly worked by hand, revolt ing the melted gold, i.h’wh is forced very quii-kiy into the moult!. Owing to centrifugal force, a very -olitl ami clean-cut casting is made which is free from blowholes. In making the mould, it is net-e-sary for the dentist first to make a pattern. This is done by filling the cavity in the tooth with wax. A wire attached to the pattern holds it in place while the clay mould is beiiw made as sliown in one of the figures. When the mould is complete, the wax is melted out. Another figure ,'bows a section of tho mould as when placed on a rotary arm. also tho block m which the gold is melted.