Poisonous Wall Papers

Trom 'f he Medical Record. From inquiry wo have made therc an bo no doubt that, with ono excepion, all grades of colored wall papers manufacturad in tho United States conain more or loss arsonic. This pracico of introducing a poisonous subíanos intu ft covering for walls is tho. more reprehensible from the face of its joins; lotally unnocossary. Oao firin n London, England and oae in New fork produce wall papers having the most varied and briüiant coloring, vliich havo not even a traco of arsonic n their composition, and thore appoars o be no reason for other manufactur ■ ers using poisonous colors, except that jy doing 30 they mako a higher profit on their manufactures. Arsenical colore are strong and about hplf the price of non-arsenical color3, and herein lie.' ,he secrel of their porsistent uso b.) wall paper manufacturers; and it apoara to us that the action of the Legisature is called for to put a stop to tho jractice. We find, also, tiir.t a class of color., used by wall paper manufacturers (who claim to soll uon-poi.-ionous wall paper), which havo not arsenic as a jase, really contains much of this subitáneo. We refer to colors composed )f some white compound, such as whiting as a baso, whieh is stained with aniline. These oolors aro vevy largely in use, and, of course, contain irsonic introduced with the anilino. rho vehicle usually omployed to give body aiid adhosiveness to the coloring being gluo, often made from hides prepared with arsenic, this substanco is eonstantly introduced by suoli means. It is thereforo clear that tho practice followed by tho firras in question, of employing pormanently an export chemist, who tests cvery package of color and gluo by tho Marsh test, which LQdicates thu prascuco of the twontythousandlh part of a graiu, is tho onïy niethod by which non-arsenical wall papers can be produced. Tho public appoar under tho inapx'ession that arseiiical poisoning from wall papers is due to portions of p.rsenic iu powdor being dusted off tho walla. Such is not the caso; the chief danger lies in the 'act that, in damp weather, tho arseuic undergoes decomposition, and fornis, in combination with othor substances present, arseniuretted hydrogen, which difl'u3es in the rooin, ind boing a deadiy poison causes sickness to tho inmates. This iorm of arsonical poisoning is more to bo dreaded than that froru the partióles removed by attrition: tha latter, however, being also a sou reo of danger to health.