| Actual deaths in ten years ending 1892. | |
|---|---|
| Caustic potash | 19 |
| Poisonous fungi | 23 |
| Aconite | 59 |
| Mercury | 60 |
| Belladonna | 76 |
| Sulphuric acid | 93 |
| Ammonia | 98 |
| Chlorodyne | 102 |
| Alcohol | 108 |
| Arsenic | 110 |
| Chloroform | 113 |
| Vermin-killer | 127 |
| Chloral | 127 |
| Phosphorus | 155 |
| Cyanide of potassium | 166 |
| Strychnine | 201 |
| Nitric acid | 204 |
| Prussic acid | 260 |
| Carbolic acid | 762 |
| Lead | 1043 |
| Opiates | 1324 |
In each decade there are changes in the position on the list. The most significant difference between the statistics now given and the statistics for the ten years ending 1880, published in the last edition of this work, is that in the former decade carbolic acid occupied a comparatively insignificant place; whereas in the ten years ending 1892, deaths from carbolic acid poisoning are the most frequent form of fatal poisoning save lead and opiates.
§ 21. The following table gives some German statistics of poisoning:—
TABLE SHOWING THE ADMISSIONS INTO VARIOUS MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS[30] IN BERLIN OF PERSONS SUFFERING FROM THE EFFECTS OF POISON DURING THE THREE YEARS 1876, 1877, 1878.
[30] Viz., the Königl. Charité, Allg. Städtisches Krankenhaus, Städtisches Baracken-Lazareth, Bethanien, St. Helwög’s-Lazarus, Elisabethen-Krankenhaus, Augusta Hospital, and the Institut für Staatsarzneikunde.
| Males. | Females. | Total. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charcoal Vapour, | 77 | 78 | 155 | ||
| Sulphuric Acid, | 24 | 54 | - | 93 | |
| Hydrochloric Acid, | 4 | 4 | |||
| Nitric Acid, and Aqua Regia, | 7 | ... | |||
| Phosphorus, | 13 | 28 | 41 | ||
| Cyanide of Potassium, | 29 | 3 | - | 38 | |
| Prussic Acid, | 5 | 1 | |||
| Oxalic Acid, and Oxalate of Potash, | 11 | 8 | 19 | ||
| Alcohol, | 12 | 2 | 14 | ||
| Arsenic, | 7 | 5 | 12 | ||
| Morphine, | 8 | 1 | - | 12 | |
| Opium, | 2 | 1 | |||
| Potash or Soda Lye, | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| Chloral, | 3 | 4 | 7 | ||
| Chloroform, | 4 | 2 | 6 | ||
| Sewer Gas, | 5 | ... | 5 | ||
| Strychnine, | ... | 4 | 4 | ||
| Atropine, | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Copper Sulphate, | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||
| Nitrobenzol, | 2 | ... | 2 | ||
| Carbolic Acid, | ... | 2 | 2 | ||
| Chromic Acid, | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Burnt Alum, | ... | 1 | 1 | ||
| Ammonium Sulphide, | 1 | ... | 1 | ||
| Datura Stramonium, | ... | 1 | 1 | ||
| Petroleum, | ... | 1 | 1 | ||
| Benzine, | 1 | ... | 1 | ||
| Ether, | 1 | ... | 1 | ||
| Prussic Acid and Morphine, | 1 | ... | 1 | ||
| Prussic Acid and Chloral, | 1 | ... | 1 | ||
| Turpentine and Sal Ammoniac, | ... | 1 | 1 | ||
| 223 | 212 | 435 | |||
Suicidal Poisoning.—Poisons which kill more than one person suicidally each year are only 19 in number, as follows:—