The New York herald., 1872-09-02
HERALD MONDAY SEPTEMBER O. 1s72-TRPLE SHEET

two C0l0red teets-the blue and RED
leaves; is my duty as Professor Of Chemistry to
explain to the medical class the best methods OF
detecting oil known posons; that explanauop
tual experiments and tests; have made these
tests for discovering the presence Of prussic acid
its nature; the proper M ter term is unstable; am q
physician but only practised eighteen months after
receiving my diploma; there Is Q test for prussic
able to detect prussic acid in the state OF vapor
think 1t Objectionable because the result It
NAV White be- Of wt
produced If there was muriaiic acid present; the
silver, when present In small quantities. cannot be
distinguished by the eye they can be distingu shed
by Chemical the cyanide Of silver s
introduced into glass tube and heated; 1t will
give on cyanogen gas, which is recognized by its
flame; II the cyanide OF silver is In sufficient guam
tty 1t may be treated with muriatic acid, when 1t
VIII give on prussic acid; then the only mode Of
verifying that would be to use the sulphur test or
the iron test; the white chloride OF silver could
NO SUCH RESULTS AS THOSE
obtained from the cyanide of silver; the use Of
nitrate Of silver can only produce cyanide, which
must afterwards be verified by the sulphur and the
acid the nitrate Of silver test Is Objectionable and
unsatisfactory. because one may not get enough
Between the cyanide and chode tSe
production Of cyanide Of silver in the use Of that
test, (the nitrate Of silver test furnish con.
examination the apparent cyanide is proved
70 be real cyanide; therefore, when
Of uo acS re GT upon s ron %nas ses
and the sulphur test; the sulphur test has the
ommendation that 1t is infallibe in detecting the
test gives red color with sesquisait alt Of f'k IRON,
which, produced under these circumstances, cannot
6e coniounded with any other known red compound
give results apparent to the eye when dealing with
Quantities of matter too small to be ageabie IN
that instead Of using nitrate Of silver to show the
presence OF prussic acid, by producing compound
om wsn would be Obliged
its presence, Ipreferred the more direct mode Of
proceeding to procure from any prussic acid pres
color and not TO be mistaken for anything else II
the ordinary precautions were observed; the only
uncertainty VIII arise from doubt as to the color;
the depth OF color the intensity of color will de-
pend on the quantity OF c0l0ring matter or colored
particles present, and therefore the depth Of the
color will bear very close relation to the
found in thS EanJ9 ains bue aSe color is as
equally conclusive as deep blue in the one case,
red In the other; the only difference Is that with
the faint color there has been less and with the
deep color more prussic acid present; In the use
In the products s that the color shall be sufficient
to be distinct: II the one is blue and the other red
would consider the conclusion lrreSlStibe; these
constitute my reasons for using these two tests
and for not using the nitrate OF silver.
Professor Aiken was here asked to approximate
from the amount OF poison found, as to how much
there might have been or was in the body twelve
days before his examination. This was objected to
by the defence, upon the ground that Professor
Aiken, being chemist and not q doctor, was not
competent to give the opinion as an expert. The
Court here adjourned until nine O'Clock Monday
morning.
The case on Monday will take on an interest 1t
has not before known, as some very important evil
dence will be given