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griping pains in the stomach, and collapse. He died at midnight.
An inquest was held, and I was present with Dr. Roe at the
necessary autopsy. We found the body in a healthy condition
throughout, except the stomach, which showed signs of acute
poisoning.
I had previously visited the beer-shop, where the cheese was
purchased, and secured a sufficient amount for analysis. I append
Mr. Colwell's report on the same :—
" I certify that I have examined the contents of the stomach, handed to
me on the 6th inst., but have failed to detect the presence of tyrotoxicon or
other poisons.
"From the sample of cheese, also furnished, I isolated a body which
gave marked reactions, similar to those given by Tyrotoxicon.
" I may add that on attempting to repeat the experiments this morning
I failed to obtain any indication of the presence of tyrotoxicon, doubtless due
to the fact that tyrotoxicon decomposes with great facility."
(Signed) J. Kear Colwell.
Chemical Laboratory,
Town Hall, Rosebery Avenue, E.C.
10th August, 1903.
On August 11th, some of the extract was found by Mr. Foulerton
to have no effect on a rabbit, and some guinea-pigs and mice fed
upon it. (Bacteriological Laboratory, Middlesex Hospital). But owing
to the very transient and evanescent character of tyrotoxicon, it is
not necessarily to be supposed that this test proves the cheese was
non-poisonous. There is, indeed, every reason to suppose it was.
The man had eaten nothing else during the week which could have
caused his illness and death. He was a very steady man, abstemious
in habits, and not given to excesses. As far as I could trace, there
were no other cases of poisoning from the cheese, but it is difficult,
and almost impossible to trace the consumption of a small quantity
of cheese from a little shop some days after its sale. The case, on
all the facts, seems to have been one of cheese poisoning, in which
the poison (tyrotoxicon or whatever matter it was) was readily
absorbed in a solution of tea. It is a parallel case to the 17 cases
which I traced in 1901, due to the same poison."*
0 See Report on Health of Finsbury, 1901, pp. 110-116.