The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-07-06

] stains are really those Of blood. They
might have been produced by fruit. dyes
| Or paint. This question is easily an
swered. A strip Of the stained portion is
cut off and suspended by thread in a
| test tube containing little distilled wa
ter. Gradually eireaks Of coloring mat
| ter will be seen descending the bottom
of the tube. forming layer OF deep red
| if the stain be recent. or Of reddish
brown if the stain be an old one. Several
strips are trea ted in a similar manner,
until sufficiently dark solution is OBJ
| tanned. To this solution little diluted
ammonia is added. which should not a.
ter the color 10 either green or crimson,
| though it may brighten il little.
The solution is now boiled. when the
color will be destroyed If blood be pres
! ent. and there will be dirty green pre-
c;pitate. ANY stain which is unaffected
| by diluted ammonia has It's colon destroy
| ed by boiling with the formation OF
precipitate is due TO blood. Very small
| quantities OF blood may be detected by
| putting a drop Of the solution on whits
pate and adding to il drop OF alcoholic
| rincture of Guaia cum and drop OF an
| ethereal solution Of hydrogen. If even a
! trace Of the coioring matter Of the blood
| be present blue color will almost i'm
mediately appear. One drop of blood in
| FIVE thousand of the solution can be de-
tected in this manner. and stains of ten
years standing have been determined by
| this test.
Since 1862 the spectroscope has been
| brought into play in the detection OF
blood stains. In that year Hoppe-Seyler
discovered that when light is passed
! through solution of blood and received
upon a prism the spectrum produced
presents characteristic black bands. the
corresponding portions of the light hav-
| ing been absorbed by the coloring matter
Of the blood. In 1864 Professor Stokes
found that two distinct spectra could be
obtained from blood. depending upon the
state of oxidation Of the coloring matter.
The one corresponded TO arterial and the
other to venous % deoxidiZed blood. In
der the microscope Characteristic crystals
Of naemoglobin and its compounds are
readily recognized.
Although the recognition OF blood stain
prpesents no difficulty to the chemist,
when he is called upon to identify the
stains as having been produced by hu-
man blood the problem becomes extreme
ly difficult. The only method known to
science is microscopic measurements OF
the diameter of the red blood corpuscles.
Unfortunately for exact science the cor
puscles Of human blood may be confound
ed with those of the opossum. the: guinea
pig, the dog and other animals. Accord
ing to Professor Warmley, we'll known
expert, the average diameter Of the blood
corpuscles in man is the 1880 Of an inch,
in monkey 1882, in an opossum 1915.
in a guinea pig 1925. and in dog 1861
Of an inch. The range in size of the
blood corpuscles in man is from 1-2S9S O,
an inch to 1889.
Hence it is quite possible for the micro
scopist to mistake the blood OF man.
mai within this range other than man for
that Of human being. In referring to
this matter of discrimination Professor
Warmley remarks:
The difference found TO exist in the av-
erage size Of the corpusc.es Of mammal
ian blood enables the microscopic TO dis
criminate readily the blood of certain an
imals, including man, from that OF other
animals Of this class. In case some
years ago il was claimed that certain
blood stains were from the blood OF
rabbit. Now, IL on examination the cor
puscles were found TO measure $4,000 OF
an inch it would be quite certain that the
blood was not that Of a rabbit which
measures 1868 of an inch. but ii would
not prove the blood human, as the result
would be equally consistent with the
blood of a number Of animals. The cor
puscles are virtually the same size in the
guinea pig, muskrat. seal, beaver, opos
sum and capybara. while those Of other
animals are but slightly larger and might
be reduced in size to those of man.
The microscope may enable us to de-
termine with great certainty that blood
is not OF a certain animal and is consist
ent with the blood of man; but in no in
stance does II, in itself, enable us TO say
that the blood Is really human or indicate
from what particular species Of animal
il wac derived.
The blood corpuscles in birds are SO
much smaller than those in mammals
that they are easily distinguished. In a
murder case tred in the state OF Ohio !
some few years ago 1t was claimed tina. |
some spots on the hat OF the accused |
were from the blood OF a turkey. This |
was testified to by two friends OF the &C
cused. The corpuscles. however. were |
proved TO be those Of a ma rnmal by their /
size those Of a turkey being only 1854 /
Of an inch, while they were of diane
ter within the range OF human blood cor
puscles. In another case where the stains
on mans clothes were alleged TO be /
those of sheep he had been killing. the |
microscope showed corpuscles OF Sleeps
blood intermixed with those wholly in
consistent with the blood OF tha; animal,
but quite consistent with human blood.
DR.. Jeserich, the eminent chemist Of
Berlin, has made study Of the appica-
ton OF science 10 the detection OF crime
Tor the pas, fifteen years and has been
successful! in the domain Of
ply. He is the scientific
detective OF Germany TO whom the police
-e:er every doubtful problem. and the
story OF some OF The cases unraveisd
-eads ike pages from the memoirs Of
Sherlock Holmes. The doctor relates a
,ase where a man accused Of murder and
Ipon whose ak marks OF blood had been
ound. explained them away by decla:-
rs that he had killed a goat eight days
before his arrest. Corpuscles CORES
,onding 10 those OF human blood were
ound upon he ak. and were photograph
caily compared with th1se OF genuine