Chief Justice.—“Would not that amount to almost the difference between life and death?”
Witness.—“It would make a very great difference certainly. Taylor and other eminent medical men have recommended that Scheele’s prussic acid should not be used, on account of the very great variation of strength. I myself always use that of the Pharmacopœia. But notwithstanding what has been written upon the subject by many eminent men, Scheele’s acid is generally used in the profession.”
Chief Justice.—“Supposing the acid to be of the highest strength you have mentioned, do you consider seven drops would have been sufficient to cause death?”
Witness.—“I don’t believe they would.”
To Mr. Barrow.—“Six per cent. is an exceptional strength, but I should think that it would take seventeen minims of that strength to cause death.”
Chief Justice.—“What do you say is the difference between a ‘drop’ and a ‘minim’?”
Witness.—“That would depend on the sort of ‘drop.’ The prisoner afterwards gave me a bottle which contained prussic acid. He told me he had given his mother four minims, and 2·5 minims remained. I did not test the strength of what remained, but had no doubt the deceased died from the effects of prussic acid.”
To Serjeant Ballantine.—“There was a broken cork in the bottle when the accused gave it to me. In his opinion ‘seventeen minims’ was the smallest dose that would destroy life. It was very easy to destroy life when dropping the liquid from a bottle. When accused told him he had given seven drops, he understood that he had given three and a half minims. He had never heard of any instance in which the strength of Scheele’s acid had exceeded six per cent.”
Mr. C. H. Moswell (chemist in Lewes).—“On the 11th of July accused came to his shop and asked for some prussic acid. Gave him a drachm, which would contain sixty minims. Did not measure it, but gave what he considered a quarter of the bottle.”