| | Deaths from suicide
during the ten
years ending 1892. |
|---|
| Potassic bichromate | 10 |
| Chloroform | 14 |
| Chloral | 15 |
| Chlorodyne | 16 |
| Aconite | 19 |
| Belladonna | 20 |
| Mercury | 24 |
| Nitric acid | 27 |
| Ammonia | 34 |
| Sulphuric acid | 53 |
| Arsenic | 77 |
| Phosphorus | 84 |
| Vermin-killer | 118 |
| Prussic acid | 122 |
| Hydrochloric acid | 138 |
| Strychnine | 150 |
| Oxalic acid | 200 |
| Prussic acid | 222 |
| Opiates | 281 |
| Phenol | 290 |
In the ten years ending 1880, suicidal deaths from vermin-killers, from prussic acid, from cyanide of potassium, and from opiates were all more numerous than deaths from phenol, whereas at present phenol appears to be the poison most likely to be chosen by a suicidal person.
Criminal Poisoning.
§ 22. Some useful statistics of criminal poisoning have been given by Tardieu[31] for the 21 years 1851-1871, which may be summarised as follows:—
[31] Étude Médico-Légale sur l’Empoisonnement, Paris, 1875.
| Total accusations of Poisoning in the 21 years, | 793 |
| Results of the Poisoning:— |
| | Death, | 280 | | - | 872 |
| | Illness, | 346 |
| | Negative, | 246 |
| Accused:— |
| | Men, | 304 | | - | 703 |
| | Women, | 399 |
| Nature of Poison Employed:— |
| | Arsenic, | | 287 |
| | Phosphorus, | | 267 |
| | Copper | - | | Sulphate, | 120 | | - | 159 |
| | Acetate (Verdigris), | 39 |
| | Acids | - | | Sulphuric Acid, | 36 | | - | 47 |
| | Hydrochloric Acid, | 8 |
| | Nitric Acid, | 3 |
| | Cantharides, | 30 |
| | Nux Vomica, | 5 | | - | 12 |
| | Strychnine, | 7 |
| | Opiates | - | | Opium, | 6 | | - | 10 |
| Laudanum, | 3 |
| Sedative Water, | 1 |
| | Salts of Mercury, | | 8 |
| | Sulphate of Iron, | | 6 |
| | Preparations of Antimony, | | 5 |
| | Ammonia, | | 4 |
| | Cyanides | - | | Prussic Acid, | 2 | | - | 4 |
| Cyanide of Potassium, | 2 |
| | Hellebore, | | 3 |
| | Datura Stramonium, | | 3 |
| | Powdered Glass, | | 3 |
| | Digitalin, | | 2 |
| | Potash, | | 2 |
| | Sulphate of Zinc, | | 2 |
| | Eau de Javelle (a solution of Hypochlorite of Potash), | | 1 |
| | Tincture of Iodine, | | 1 |
| | Croton Oil, | | 1 |
| | Nicotine, | | 1 |
| | Belladonna, | | 1 |
| | “Baume Fiovarenti,” | | 1 |
| | Euphorbia, | | 1 |
| | Acetate of Lead, | | 1 |
| | Carbonic Acid Gas, | | 1 |
| | Laburnum Seeds, | | 1 |
| | Colchicum, | | 1 |
| | Mushrooms, | | 1 |
| | Sulphuric Ether, | | 1 |
| | Total, | | 867 |
It hence may be concluded, according to these statistics of criminal poisoning, that of 1000 attempts in France, either to injure or to destroy human life by poison, the following is the most probable selective order:—