Ages, 1-5 5-15 15-25 25-65 65 and Total above Males, 1 1 4 1 ... 7 Females, 1 ... ... 3 ... 4 --------------------------------------- Totals, 2 1 4 4 ... 11 --------------------------------------- PRUSSIC ACID (SUICIDE). Ages, 15-25 25-65 65 and Total above Males, 23 156 23 202 Females, 5 13 1 19 ---------------------------- Totals, 28 169 24 221 ---------------------------- POTASSIUM CYANIDE (SUICIDE). Ages, 5-15 15-25 25-65 65 and Total above Males, 1 6 88 5 100 Females, ... 6 15 1 22 ---------------------------------- Totals, 1 12 103 6 122 ---------------------------------- To these figures must be added 10 cases of murder (2 males and 8 females) by prussic acid, and 4 cases of murder (3 males and 1 female) by potassic cyanide. In order to ascertain the proportion in which the various forms of commercial cyanides cause death, and also the proportion of accidental, suicidal, and criminal deaths from the same cause, Falck collated twelve years of statistics from medical literature with the following result:-- In 51 cases of cyanide poisoning, 29 were caused by potassic cyanide, 9 by hydric cyanide, 5 by oil of bitter almonds, 3 by peach stones (these 3 were children, and are classed as “domestic,” that is, taking the kernels as a food), 3 by bitter almonds (1 of the 3 suicidal and followed by death, the other 2 “domestic”), 1 by tartaric acid and potassic cyanide (a suicidal case, an apothecary), and 1 by ferro-cyanide of potassium and tartaric acid. Of the 43 cases first mentioned, 21 were suicidal, 7 criminal, 8 domestic, and 7 medicinal; the 43 patients were 24 men, 14 children, and 5 women. The cyanides are very rarely used for the purpose of murder: a poison which has a strong smell and a perceptible taste, and which also kills with a rapidity only equalled by deadly bullet or knife-wounds, betrays its presence with too many circumstances of a tragic character to find favour in the dark and secret schemes of those who desire to take life by poison. In 793 poisoning cases of a criminal character in France, 4 only were by the cyanides.