Robin Mills asked about Nuxated Iron (20 November)
 
"Nuxated" is a very strange word, but it probably refers to a compound or
mixture of iron and strychnine, which is a toxic alkaloid derived from the
seeds of the plant Strychnos nux vomica.  In the nineteenth century
strychnine was often simply called Nux vomica.  It was used as a rat
poison, and (in smaller doses) as a pharmaceutical.
 
In this case I would opt for the pharmaceutical use.  A syrup of ferrous
hypophosphite, strychnine and quinine was used as a muscle stimulant to
treat paralysis, or sometimes as a general tonic (!)  "Strychnine and iron
mixture" was still in the British Pharmaceutical Codex as late as 1963.
 
That's my best guess.  Are there any other pharmaceutical containers
present?  Poisonous pharmaceutical substances were traditionally kept in
amber glass bottles of polygonal shape, with raised ridges for
identification by feel.  If there is any residue in the bottle, it is
probably highly toxic.
 
Peter Bell
 
 
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