In four samples of nux vomica examined by Dragendorff, the total alkaloids ranged from 2·33 to 2·42 per cent. Grate found in two samples 2·88 per cent. and 2·86 per cent. respectively; while Karing from one sample separated only 1·65 per cent. The strychnine and brucine are in about equal proportions, Dragendorff[424] finding 1·187 per cent. strychnine and 1·145 per cent. brucine.[425]
[424] Dragendorff, Die chemische Werthbestimmung einiger starkwirkenden Droguen, St. Petersburg, 1874.
[425] These details are very necessary, as bearing on the question of the fatal dose of nux vomica, which Taylor tells us (Med. Jurisprud., i. 409) was of some importance in Reg. v. Wren, in which 47 grains were attempted to be given in milk. The fatal dose of nux vomica must be ruled by its alkaloidal content, which may be so low as 1 per cent., and as high as nearly 3 per cent. 30 grains have proved fatal (Taylor); if the powder in this instance was of the ordinary strength, the person died from less than a grain (·0648 grm.) of the united alkaloids.
The vermin-killers in use in this country are those of Miller, Battle, Butler, Clift, Craven, Floyd, Gibson, Hunter, Stenier, and Thurston. Ten samples from these various makers were examined recently by Mr. Allen (Pharm. Journal, vol. xii., 1889), and the results of the analyses are embodied in the following table:—
| Name or Mark. | Weight of Powder in Grains. | Price. | Strychnine. | Nature of Starch. | Colouring Matter. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight in Grains. | Per- centage. | |||||
| 1 | 5·6 | 3d. | 0·61 | 10·9 | Wheat | ? |
| 2 | 11·8 | 3d. | 0·80 | 6·7 | Wheat | Ultramarine. |
| 3 | 13·1 | 3d. | 1·12 | 8·7 | Rice | Ultramarine. |
| 4 | 11·6 | 3d. | 1·28 | 11·1 | Rice | Ultramarine. |
| 5 | 13·1 | 3d. | 1·70 | 13·0 | Rice | Ultramarine. |
| 6 | 21·5 | 6d. | 2·42 | 11·2 | Wheat | Prussian blue. |
| 7 | 49·2 | 3d. | 2·85 | 5·8 | Wheat | Soot. |
| 8 | 30·5 | 3d. | 3·45 | 11·3 | Wheat | Prussian blue. |
| 9 | 16·6 | 3d. | 3·81 | 19·4 | Rice | Carmine. |
| 10 | 10·0 | 3d. | 4·18 | 41·8 | Rice | Ultramarine. |
§ 389. Statistics.—In England, during the ten years 1883-92, out of 6666 total deaths from poison, strychnine, nux vomica, and vermin-killer account for 325. Out of these deaths, 118 were ascribed to “vermin-killer.” “Vermin-killer” may be presumed to include not only strychnine mixtures, but also phosphorus and arsenic pastes and powders, so that there are no means of ascertaining the number of strychnine cases comprised under this heading. Taking the deaths actually registered as due to strychnine or nux vomica, they are about 4·7 per cent. of the deaths from all sorts of poison. Of these deaths, 268, or 82·4 per cent., were suicidal, 8 were homicidal, and 49 only were accidental.
Schauenstein has collected from literature 130 cases of poisoning by strychnine, but most of these occurred during the last twenty-five years; 62 of the 130, or about one-half, were fatal, and 15 were homicidal. It has been stated that strychnine is so very unsuitable for the purpose of criminal poisoning as to render it unlikely to be often used. Facts, however, do not bear out this view; for, allowing its intensely bitter taste, yet it must be remembered that bitter liquids, such as bitter ale, are in daily use, and a person accustomed to drink any liquid rapidly might readily imbibe sufficient of a toxic liquid to produce death before he was warned by its bitterness. It is, indeed, capable of demonstration, that taste is more vivid after a substance has been taken than just in the act of swallowing, for the function of taste is not a rapid process, and requires a very appreciable interval of time.
The series of murders by Thomas Neill, or, more correctly, Thomas Neill Cream, is an example of the use of strychnine for the purposes of murder. Thomas Neill Cream was convicted, October 21, 1892, for the murder of Matilda Clover on October 20, 1891; there was also good evidence that the same criminal had murdered Ellen Dunworth, October 13, 1891; Alice Marsh, April 12, 1892; Emma Shrivell, April 12, 1892, and had attempted the life of Louie Harvey. The agent in all these cases was strychnine. There was no evidence as to what form of the poison was administered in the case of Clover, but Ellen Dunworth, who was found dying in the streets at 7.45 P.M., and died less than two hours afterwards, stated that a gentleman gave her “two drops” of white stuff to drink.