large quantities it is a poison. The same applies to copper. Out of the bewildering field of more than a million chemicals, it may be wondered that a medico-legal man can even put his finger on the right one in a murder case and make his finding stick in .ourt. The truth is that with the usually small, some- times minuscule, specimens he has to work with, he cannot do this — not unless he also has a “Jead” deriving from the circumstances, the symptoms preceding death, the habits of the dead person, the place the body is found and a variety of other data. “It is an illusion that the chemist can take anything in any quantity and tell you what is in it,” says Dr. Young. He quotes an example of how chemistry can solve a mystery, the sad case of six babies who died in a Nova Scotia nursing home some years ago. They died from 19 hours to five days after their regular feeding of an artificial mixture. Muscular twitching and skin erup- tions preceded death. The chemist proved they died of boric acid poison- ing. Only 26 such deaths had been reported in all medical literature. No bacteria were found in the evaporated milk and sterile water the infants drank. But investigation showed the mixture had been poured into a jug previously used in the obstetrical department. Analysis found CHEVROLET OLDSMOBILE CADILLAC Wilson Motors Ltd. VICTORIA AND DUNCAN Compliments of RADIO APPLIANCE CO. * 783 Fort St. Victoria, B.C. One of the leading medico-legal experts in North America, Dr. Rosario Fontaine, directs the laboratory of Legal Medicine and Police Science for Quebec Province. His testimony has helped convict many criminals. this jug had been used to contain first, a rubbing mixture of ethyl alcohol and sodium chloride and later, a 21% per cent solution of boric acid. The total of boric acid found in the brains and livers of the babies was a grain or less in each case, probably the minimum amount that would kill. The man whose career is forensic medicine carries a heavy public re- sponsibility. His delvings into the obscure may assume terrible signifi- cance, his word on the witness stand may mean death for the prisoner. Symbolic of the patience and de- termination needed is the following story of the head of Quebec’s medico- legal laboratory. Not long ago, Dr. Fontaine went to an agency to try to obtain a D.P. maid for his household. The woman in charge said: “I’m sorry, doctor, YOUR TAXI IN VICTORIA but the only maid we have available is an Italian who does not speak or understand English or French.” “Well,” said Dr. Fontaine airily, “we'll learn Italian!” At last report, the maid did not know much about Canada’s two langu- ages, but the Fontaines’ Italian was coming along fine. * * —/(Courtesy of C-I-L Oval). IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE IN THE SHOULDER STRAP Western Heating Products Everything in Heating OIL HEATING AIR CONDITIONING ROOFING GENERAL SHEET METAL 825 Broughton St., Victoria, B.C. Phone G-9391 Quarter Cab Co. Lid. 708 Johnson Street MEET YOUR FRIENDS... ISLAND EVENTS (Weekly Graphic of Vancouver Island) @ The Only Pictorial Magazine on the Island. @ Over 5,000 Vancouver Islanders Pictured Each Year @ Complete Picture Coverage of All Main Events. % THIS IS YOUR MAGAZINE ABOUT YOU >» GET IT AT YOUR NEWSSTAND OR SUBSCRIBE NOW BY SENDING $3.00 TO: CIRCULATION MANAGER, ISLAND EVENTS 10th Floor, Bank of Toronto Bldg., Victoria, B.C. ———— | THE SHOULDER STRAP E 1197 INSTANT SERVICE — FULLY INSURED We Appreciate Your Patronage G. I. EDGELOW P. A. REID Page Forty-two