From, the Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser of May 17th, 1876.) 
Arsenic in the Arts as a Cause oi Arse- 
jiical Poisoning. 
r 
pyrites, from which sulphuric acid is sometimes 
made ; and thus this useful acid is often found 
arsenical to such a degree as to unfit it for cer- 
tain uses. Thus, too, it passes into other pro- 
ducts into which this acid enters, or in the prep- 
aration of which it has been ernplo. ed. It has 
been detected even in carbooate of soda, which 
is obtained trom common salt by means of sul - 
phuric acid. 
ARSENICAL COLORS. 
Until recently the chief use of arsenic has 
been for the manufacture of colors. Combined 
with s-uiphur. it yields two sulphides—yellow 
arsenic or orpimenc, and red arsenic or realgar. 
The splendid emerald green color produced by 
combining arsenic with copper, or the acetate 
of copper, on account of its unparalleled bril- 
liancy, and its permanency, has won its way to 
popular favor, despite its poisonous character. 
The arseniteof copper, or Scheele’s green, con- 
tains 55 per cent, of white arsenic, and the 
acefco-arsemte, or Schweinturt green, 58 per 
cent. The latter color is also known in com- 
merce by a bewildering number of aliases, such 
as imperial green, emerald green, mineral 
green, Bruuswick green, Vienna green, Vert 
de Montague, &c. A painter recently told me 
that he did not use emerald green because it 
was poison, but he used in its place Vei't de 
Montague. He was deceived by a name. 
On account of the insolubility of these arsen- 
ical pigments in any fluid which does not de- 
compose them, they cannot be employed as 
dyes Their use is therefore limned to ca;es 
where they can either be fixed upon the fab- 
ric or incorporated into its substance during 
tbe process of manufacture. They" are also 
used both as oil and water colors. 
A cake of Windsor aud Newton’s emerald 
green water color, which I recently had occa- 
sion to analyze, contained nearly" 40 per cent, 
of arsenic—enough to kill ten people. 
In the dress goods krmwn a* green tarlatan 
the color is emerald greet), simply fixed upon 
the fabric with starch or size. Height green 
artificial flowers are colored in the satffe man- 
ner. In decorative and wall papers, and card 
board, the color is spread on one side of the pa- 
per, the surface being left dull or glazed, as may 
be desired. 
Iu writing paper the color is mixed with the 
pulp and thus is incorporated into the tex ure 
In such paper the vivid green is usually toned 
down by some white powder to a pale sea- 
green. 
The State Boards of Health, of Massachu- 
setts, and of Michigan, have, in their reports, 
called tbe special attention of the public to the 
great danger of poisoning from arsenical wall 
papers. In the latter State, samples of poison- 
ous paper have been collected, bound into a 
volume, ODe hundred copies of which have been 
distributed to the principal libraries of the 
State, for the purpo.-e of educating the public in 
some measure to protect themselves from this 
insidious danger. 
ANILINE COLORS. 
The aniline colors are obtained indirectly 
from coal tar, but directly from “ aniline oil,” 
by treating it with certain reagents. The ma- 
jority of manufacturers prefer arsenic, not- 
withstanding the danger of poisoning to 
which the workmen are exposed and Che diffi- 
culty of disposing of large volumes of poisonous 
residues. In some manufactories in Europe 
one hundred tons of arsenic are thus consumed 
in a single year. The beautiful color fuchsia, 
when made according to the French mode, is 
said always to contain arsenic, and since tnis 
color is the basis of nearly all other aniline 
color.-, it is readily seen that at least a large 
number are liable to be poisonous. Yet we 
wear it in our apparel, we eat it in sweetmeats, 
we drink ic in syrup, we write with it as ink. 
MISCELLANEOUS USES OF ARSENIC. 
In calico printing, of late, arseniate of alu- 
mina has been extensively substituted for albu- 
men, and arsenic acid for the more costl. tar- 
taric acid. A crude arsenical ore, or “ black 
arsenic,” is of;en sold as “ fly-powder” or 
even “ cobalt,” and used in the household for 
destroying flies. Lead shot contains arsenic, 
which is added to improve the spherical shape. 
In pyrotechny red arsenic is used in Indian tire 
or Bengal wbi e fire. The transparency of glass 
is improved by adding a little arsenic. An ar- 
senical soap is used by taxidermists to preserve 
tbe skins of stuffed animals. Hence you often 
leave a museum with a head-ache—slightly 
poisoned. A mixture of lime and yellow ar- 
senic is used in dressing skins to remove the 
hair or wool. Shepherds use an arsenical mix- 
ture somedmes for “ dipping” sheep. Yellow 
arsenic is used in India in preparing shellac for 
the market. Both the yellow and green pig- 
ments are used—less commonly than formerly 
—in coloring children’s toys and candies. Iu 
solutions for bronzing-, workmen often employ 
arsenic from which they* sutler greatly Cau- 
dles are often colored green or yellow by" ar- 
senical pigments. and sometimes "the wicks are 
saturated w ith arsenic to improve the brilliancy 
of the light. 
ARSENIC IN AGRICULTURE—PARIS GREEN. 
In the late war with insect invaders, farmers 
have sought in a variety of poisons a means of 
protection. White arsenic has been used to a 
limited extent, but a wholesome fear of its dead- 
ly character has checked its popular- 
ity. 'ihe most successful competitor for 
popular favor has been Paris green 
which is only another alias for the aceto- 
arsenite of copper, or tbe emerald green of the 
painter. If pure, Baris green should contain 58 
per cent, of its weight of white arsenic, but it 
is usually liberally diluted with sulphate of 
baryta. The samples which I have had occa- 
sion to analyze have contained from 11 to 27 
per cent, ot this heavy, harmless make-weight. 
The quantity of this poisonous powder used in 
the Western States is enormous. More than a 
ton has been sold in a single small village in a 
year. Numerous instances of more or less 
serious poisoning by Paris green, from inhala- 
tion of the dust and from cutaneous absorption, 
especially where thei e has been abrasion of the 
skin, have been reported. 
The familiarity of the public with the highly 
poisonous effects of arsenic, the facility with 
which it can be obtained, the ease with which 
it can be administered on account of its free- 
dom from taste, have conspired to render death 
from arsenical poisoning more frequent than 
from any other poison. Conseqently Toxicolo- 
gists have given special attention to its physio- 
logical effects and to the methods of recovery, 
identifying it ana bringing it as a substantial 
witness into court to testify against the guilty. 
The facility with which it may be separated 
from all other substances and the possibility of 
identifying it beyond all doubt, even in micro- 
scopic traces, are now well understood. 
The compounds of this element are marked 
by two singular characteristics. Most arseni- 
cal compounds, excepting those of the alkalies, 
are insoluble and yet they react at once, and 
powerfully whenever applied to the mucous 
membranes or introduced into the blood. They 
rapidly pervade the system, soon appearing in 
the liver, in the renal excretions, and pervading 
the nervous matter and even the brain. In 
other cases, long after the tissues have suffered 
decomposition, the bones have yielded up their 
testimony, under the inquisition of chemistry, 
in the shape of absorbed arsenic. 
POISONOUS EFFECTS. 
While the investigation of the fatal cases be- 
longs to tbe Toxicologist, that of the non-fatal 
cases belongs to the physician. The volumin- 
ous literature o< toxicology and of sanitary sci- 
ence abounds in clearly marked cases of chron- 
ic poisoning from arsenic, when the quantity 
of substance entering the system must have 
been infinitesimally small. Can chronic poison- 
ing occur from the occupancv of a room whose 
walls are covered with ar.-enical paper? Multi- 
tudes of cases could be cited from the most 
careful and competent observers. Fatal cases 
even are recorded. 
- Dr. Taylor, in his “Treatiseon Poisons',—an 
authority of the highest rank—speaks thus on 
this important subject: “The symptoms pro- 
duced by arsemcated wall-papers are of a uni- 
form character, showing their origin from a 
common cause. They are as follows: Dryness 
and irritation of the throat with cough, irrita- 
tion of the mucous membiane of ihe eyes and 
nostrils, dry cough, shortness of breathing, 
languor, headache, loss of appetite, nausea, 
colicky pains, numbness, great prostration of 
strength, sleeplessness, a feverish condition, 
and wasting of the body. These symptoms 
may not all present themselves in any one case; 
they are derived from the examination of nu- 
merous cases which have been referred to me. 
They resemble those of a severe cold. No sus- 
picion of the real cause has been entertain d 
until after all ordinary treatment had failed to 
impart relief »nd an "analysis of the paper had 
been made. |he pontiecdon of the symptoms 
with this cause appears to have been in some 
instances estV.'‘ bed t y-the lavt taut vae 
removal of the paper, especially from bed- 
rooms, the symptoms have disappeared.” 
The slight manner in which the arsenical 
color is laid on w all - paper, as already ex- 
plained, shows how easily it may be detached 
and go its way to mingle with the general dust 
of the room. Indeed the arsenic has actually 
been deteciel, by chemical means, in the dust 
from the furniture of rooms hung with such pa- 
per. The possibilities of small quantities of 
arsenic entering the system accidentally must 
be apparent, when we observe the extended use 
made of the arsenical colors. The green paper 
meets us everywhere—on the walls, on paper 
boxes, labels, cards, tickets, stationery, papier 
lamp-shades, from which the arsenic is often 
volatilized by the heat of the lamp. I have per- 
ceived the characteristic odor of volatilized 
arsenic in lighting the gas with a wisp of 
arsenical letter paper. Such articles are con- 
stantly in the reach cf children, and of adults 
ignorant as children of the dangerous character 
of the articles they are handling. 
Who, knowing that a cake of emerald green— 
the favorite among all the colors—contains 
more than one-third of its weight of pure 
arsenic, would allow bis children to use it un- 
warned? The use of green tarlatan in protecting 
chandeliers, picture-frames and mirror-frames, 
brings a dangerous article into the house. Not 
long since I saw, in a summer hotel, the dining 
table protected, in tbe interval between 
meals, by a voluminous net of green tarlatan, 
from which the arsenical powder was sifting 
upon the cloth and into the dishes at every 
touch. Has the time not come when this 
broadcast sowing of a dangerous and often un- 
known poison should be in some manner ar- 
rested ? 
Since I am considering arsenic in the arts as 
a cause of arsenical poisoning, I mus not omit 
entirely the “Healing Ar You, gentlemen, 
use arsenic in a legitimate way. It has its 
place in the Ma’eria Medica. Yet the Toxtcol- 
ogi-t sometime* takes the liber, y of overhauling 
the medicines dispensed according to i he Doc- 
tor’s prescripdon, just to be sure that all is 
right. 
ARSENIC IN SUB-NITRATE OF BISMUTH. 
Not long since I was called upon 
in connection with a case in which 
a man was on trial for murder by 
poisoning to give testimony as to what ex'ent 
sub-niirate of 1 isinuib is contaminated with ar- 
fenic, it being well known that the ores of bis- 
niu h are rarely free from arsenic and also that 
the complete elimination of it is exceeding dif- 
ficult. 
Indeed, one of the highest authorities, if not 
the highest in Toxicology, in a work not yet 
translated into Engli h, say”: ' T’he ores of 
bismuth being always ar-eniferous, it follows 
that arsenic only too frequently" accompanies 
bismuth in its compounds, and it is even claim- 
ed that the efficiency of the preparations of bis- 
muth in cases of diseases ot the stomach, should 
be attributed to the arsenic which such prepar- 
ations nearly always contain.” 
In the case to which I allude samples of sub- 
nitrate of bismuth were obtained from ail the 
druggists of the village, five in number, and 
brought to me for analysis. They all contained 
arsenic. 1 then obtained a number of samples 
from different druggists in this city. These 
likewi-e all contained arsenic except a single 
specimen of Parisian manufacture which was 
entirely free. 
In closing bis address, Professor Lattimore 
present ed a specimen of the metallic arsenic ob- 
tained from sub-nitrate of bismuth recently 
analyzed. Also, a number of specimens of pa- 
per of various kinds, all colored with arsenical 
pigments—wall taper, letter paper, envelopes, 
fancy paper, card board, tickets, etc., among 
the rest a “milk-ticket.” 
One of these sheets—a programme of the 
Rochester Free Academy for 1875—was accom- 
panied by one-third of a grain of metallic arse- 
nic extracted from a single programme. 
He also presented specimens of green tarlatan 
with the arsenic in the form of sulphide ex- 
tracted from a piece six inches square. It was 
equivalent to a little more than two grains of 
white arsenic. A yard therefore contains a 
quarter of an ounce of white arsenic and a la- 
dies dress, if made in style, three ounces. In 
response te a request from the audience Dr. 
La.timore explained several easy and rapid 
modes by which the presence of arsenic might 
be detected in arsenial paper. 
BY S. A. LATTIMORE, LL. D., PROFESSOR OF 
CHEMISTRY IN THE UNIVERSITY 
OF ROCHESTER. 
Delivered, by Request, Before the Medical 
Association of Central flew Yor/, at the 
Annual Meeting held in Rochester, May 
16th, 1876. 
Mr. President and Gentlemen : Every 
science has its border lands, which are also the 
border lands of ether contiguous sciences, in 
many cases the precise boundary lines are ill- 
defined—possibly indefinable. Occasionally, in 
the progress of knowledge and civilization, 
some parts of these neutral territories are them 
selves organized into independent provinces. 
For example, between the sciences of Law and 
Medicine lies the large territory of Medical 
Jurisprudence, belongiug strictly to neither, 
yet intimately concerning both. This fact was 
early recognized. The Roman law" referred all 
medical questions which arose in the course of 
legal proceedings to “the authority of the 
learned Hippocrates.” The publication of the 
QuestionesMedico-Legalesby Paulus Bacchias, 
between 1621 and 1650, was tne full inaugura- 
tion of this new and still enlarging domain of 
scientific knowledge. Just two centuries later, 
an important part of this great field was recog- 
nized as the distinct department of Chemical 
Jurisprudence or Toxicology, when Orfila, in 
1813-15, published the first edition of his Traite 
des Poisons, ou 7oxicologie Generate. Within 
the last half century toxicology, responding to 
the severe demands of the various tribunals of 
justice, has laid all kindred sciences under trib- 
ute, Dressing- into service all then- most fi- 
lmed methods of research, until it now, witl 
the keen tests of chemistry, the microscope and 
and the spectroscope, pursues the criminal as i 
fleer, and unerring Nemesis. 
The department of chemical technology has 
furnished to the medical practitioner important 
aid in unfolding to him causes affecting life and 
health among the noxious materials and pro- 
cesses employed in the industrial arts. 
Moreover, it is precisely along these lines of 
unoccupied territory that just now the medical 
profession chiefly,—nay, almost exclusively, 
by its own uncompensated efforts, is raising the 
new domain of Preventive Medicine or Sanita- 
ry Science to a position of commanding emi- 
nence. Its comprehensiyebeueficience embraces 
the humblest and the lowliest. It not only pro- 
poses to show every man that he is, in a new 
sense, his brother’s keeper, but it also proposes 
to compel him, if necessary, to do that duty. 
It is only on this border land between the 
science of medicine, represented here to-day by 
so many learned and distinguished men, and 
the science of chemistry that I could venture to 
meet you in response to the courteous invita- 
tion of your President. 
The earliest investigations concerning the 
chemical properties of arsenic date from the 
former part of the last century. Previous to 
this time, it is true, some of its compounds had 
been known as a fearful poison sometimes em- 
ployed for criminal purposes. In matters of 
state and of, love its potent aid was not infre- 
quently invoked. Estates and even thrones 
occasionally became suddenly and conveniently 
vacant for some expectant and unscrupulous 
heir. In Southern Europe, during the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries, secret poisoning be- 
came so common that the popular alarm arose 
almost to a panic. The famous Aqua To- 
fana, doubtless a compound of arsenic, 
since it w-as a limpid and tasteless fluid, 
became a fearful instrument of destruction iu 
the hands ol the celebrated demon, Tofana of 
Palermo, from whom it derived its name, and 
who, when put to tbe rack, confessed to having 
poisoned no less than six hundred persons. 
After the execution of Tofana it is said an 
organized society was discovered in Rome 
whose object was the removal by poison of per- 
sons obnoxious to i s members. Tbe fortune 
teller often added to her j>rofe.-sion that of se- 
cret poisoner. She might confidently predict 
the early death of a person who stood in the 
way of her client, : ince tne means of insuring 
the fulfillment of her prophecy were in her own 
hands. It was believed that the art of poi-on- 
ing had reached such a degree of refinement 
that the death of the victim might be fixed at 
any future period by simply adjusting the po- 
tency of the poison. The history of Madame 
Brinvilliers of Pans, who was executed just 
two hundred years ago, is well known. She 
prepared herself for her future profession in a 
thoroughly scientific manner by studying the 
effects of Aqua Tofana and of poudre de suc- 
cession upon the unsuspecting patients in the 
Paris hospital. She then proceeded, secundem 
artem, to de troy her father, brothers, and 
many others. 
Happily for society", Toxicological science, 
by bringing to the light such secret practices, 
has made the existence of such monsters no 
longer possible. 
In modern times, arsenic has passed from the 
hands of the assassin and become an article of 
widely extended use in the arts,especially those 
that minister to our taste for tbe beautiful. The 
quantity consumed annually is enormous and is 
constantly increasing. New uses for it arise 
almost daily. It finds its way into every house- 
hold. In view of its deleterious and often fatal 
effects, even in minute quantities, the freedom 
—rather the recklessness, with which it is 
placed in the hands of unsuspecting persons is 
highly reprehensible and should, by some effi- 
cient means, be checked. 
Arsenic is not an abundant element in na- 
ture. but is most widely diffused. It is especi- 
ally associated with many metallic ores. Itoc 
curs in small quantity in many mineral waters, 
especially alkaline and ferruginous waters,such 
as those in the valley of Vichy, Plombieres, 
Karlsbad and Kissingen, and to its presence 
has been attributed tbe therapeutic value of these 
waters. It is of common occurrence in iron-