On poisons in relation to medical jurisprudence and medicine . 9, p. 765.) Prussic Acid in Organic Liquids—Detection by Vapor without Distil-lation.—Any organic liquid suspected to contain prussic acid, e. g., thematters first vomited, or the contents of the stomach after death, may,under the limitations already mentioned, emit an odor of the poison per-ceptible to one or more individuals. If the liquid has no odor of prus-sic acid, but an odor of sulphuretted hydrogen, or of some stronglysmelling substance, e. g., peppermint or tobacco, still the poison may bepresent, and it may be detected,
On poisons in relation to medical jurisprudence and medicine . 9, p. 765.) Prussic Acid in Organic Liquids—Detection by Vapor without Distil-lation.—Any organic liquid suspected to contain prussic acid, e. g., thematters first vomited, or the contents of the stomach after death, may,under the limitations already mentioned, emit an odor of the poison per-ceptible to one or more individuals. If the liquid has no odor of prus-sic acid, but an odor of sulphuretted hydrogen, or of some stronglysmelling substance, e. g., peppermint or tobacco, still the poison may bepresent, and it may be detected, if not as a liquid by the ordinary pro-cess of distillation, at least by its vapyor. Of the two processes to bepursued, that which relates to the detection of the vapor is the more icertain, and open to the fewest objections. It should always be triedbefore resorting to distillation, because no plausible objection can thentbe raised on the ground that prussic acid might have been generatedfrom a decomposition of animal matter during this process. If thei. Crystals of bulphoeyanidu of ammo-nium from the vapor of prussic acid (inbeer), magnified 70 diameters. DETECTION BY DISTILLATION. 577 poison be clearly and unequivocally detected by its vapor, there is nonecessity for resorting to distillation, except for the purpose of deter-mining the proportion of prussic acid present. The organic liquidshould be placed in a wide-mouthed bottle or beaker, to which a watch-glass has been previously fitted as a cover. The capacity of the bottlemay be such as to allow the surface of the liquid to be within one ortwo inches of the concave surface of the watch-glass. The solution ofXlirate of silver is then used as a trial-test in the manner already de-scribed (p. 474). If the 200th of a grain of prussic acid is present,and not too largely diluted, it will be detected (at a temperature of (30°)by the drop of nitrate of silver being converted into an opaque white orcrystalline film of cyani
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectpoisons, bookyear1875
