POISONING—A LOST ART.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XVII, Issue 1647, 11 March 1922, Page 6

POISONING—A LOST ART.

MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE

AGES.

FIENDISH PRACTITIONERS

Ever since mediaeval times a silent

but none the less determined war has been going on between the subtle art of poisoning and the more subtle

science of discovering and locating poisons in the human body. In the old days fortunes awaited those who could prepare some concoction which would remove people from this world without leaving traces of how it was done. Poisoning, as understood by a Catherine de Medici, was a grand art. To-day it is a lost art, for science has practically won the long fight and is now able to discover and classify every known poison even months after the victim has succumbed to its effects. Delicate Scientific Tests. Within the last generation almost every kind of poison has come within the scope of the ever-increasing experience of medico-legal experts who have been called to give evidence in important cases —from the hyoscyamine of the Crippen case to the arsenical fly-paper of the Seddon affair.

Arsenic, antimony, prussic acid, carbolic acid, oxalic acid, mercury, belladonna, opium, heroin, morphia, calabar bean, croton seed, nitric acid, pyridine—that most deadly poison found in minute quantities in dirty tobacco-pipes—all have been traced, tabulated, and chained by the patient, emotionless detective, Science.

So highly has the work of scientific detection been developed that the presence of arsenic may be discovered even years after it has been taken. No more delicate tests in chemistry, and at the same time no more infallible ones, can be used than the tests for arsenic and antimony. In the former poison the tests are so severe that one part in sixty millions can be revealed.

The Fiendish Borgias.

It is to the Borgias that one must go to hear about the incredibly subtle poisons which could not be detected; but the light of modern science proves that much which is credited to that family’s knowledge of the art of poisoning was really impossible of accomplishment unless we concede — which is just possible—that they knew more about toxicology than do modern savants. There was one particular poison which the Borgias are credited with using which has remained a secret. It was tasteless, could kill the victim quickly or leisurely as the poisoner willed, and it left no trace discernible to the chemists of that time. The lists of nobles and dignitaries of the Church who died by this subtle means is believed to be formidable. It was used in two ways, powder and liquid, and its method of manufacture was related by an obscure scientist of the period. Poison from Wild Boar. The powder form of the poison was white like flour, with a taste like sugar. It was called Contarella. Its composition was never known, but the liquid was prepared in the following way. A wild boar was caught and to it was administered a strong dose of arsenic. As soon as the poison began to take effect the boar was hung up by the heels. Convulsions came on, and a froth, which ran from its jaws, was collected in a silver dish and then was transferred to a bottle which, after some Contarella was added,, was hermetically sealed. This was kept for a certain time, and the result was the notorious poison.

Certain it is that no poison known 10-tlay is secret. Chemistry and science can provide the means of detection and can often supply the antidote.