HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G O SSIP. 



151 



frequently employed by ignorant quacks, herbalists, 

 &c, in certain cases. As a proof of this I may 

 intance a case recorded by Professor Redwood in 

 the "Pharmaceutical Journal," Nov. 10, 1877, in 

 which a woman took three half-teacupful doses of a 

 strong decoction, without producing the slightest 

 effect. Afterwards she took a similar dose, but 

 with some chopped, unboiled leaves added. She 

 died within • three hours of the time of taking it. 

 There have been other fatal cases to human beings 

 from yew-leaves taken in a similar way, and several 

 from the berries, as I will show further on. 



In the majority of cases of accidental poisoning of 

 animals from feeding on unwholesome food, the yew 

 has been the cause of the mischief. Nor is this to be 

 wondered at, considering the frequent use made of it 

 for hedges, and the delicate, fresh appearance of the 

 young shoots, offering at first an almost irresistible 

 temptation to horses kept chiefly on dry fodder, and 

 to oxen put upon short allowance. Some have said 

 that the time of the year has an influence upon the 

 effect of the leaves, but this opinion is probably due 

 to the fact that, as a rule, animals only eat the yew 

 where they can get nothing else. Others again have 

 maintained that the Irish yew alone is poisonous ; 

 but this idea, apart from the comparative scarceness 

 of the tree in this country, is negatived by the fact, 

 that Professor Tuson, in a letter to the "Field" in 

 January or February 1877, mentions finding English 

 yew-leaves in the crops and gizzards of some pheasants, 

 the cause of whose deaths he had been investigating. 

 A very curious circumstance with regard to the yew 

 may here be mentioned. In spite of its poisonous 

 qualities it is given in Hanover and Hesse to cattle 

 when fodder is scarce. At first it is mixed with the 

 food in small quantities, gradually increased as the 

 system becomes inured to it, until it forms the great 

 bulk of the food. M. Husard, who noted this, tried 

 the experiment on his return to France, but on the 

 horse instead of on the ox. First he fed an ema- 

 ciated, feeble horse with half-a-pound of yew and 

 one pound and a half of oats, without the slightest 

 bad effect. Then, thinking there might be a want 

 of sensibility in the stomach of the first horse, he 

 gave the same mixture to a mare in good health and 

 condition, with the same result. Finally he gave 

 seven ounces of yew, bruised and mixed with twelve 

 ounces of water, to a horse which had fasted for some 

 hours. This one died in an hour. Mr. Youatt, 

 from whose work the above is taken, cautions people 

 against using yew at all, as he had known instances 

 in which the presence of a considerable quantity of 

 other food in the stomach had not preserved the 

 animal from the fatal effects of it. 



In all properly recorded cases of poisoning by yew, 

 both accidental and experimental, death takes place 

 in one to three hours, apparently without much pain, 

 if any. The proper remedies would be a free use of 

 the stomach-pump, or four ounces of sweet-oil, in 



two doses, in warm ale, followed by a pint of strong- 

 salt and water. 



With regard to pcisoning by yew "berrie ," the 

 truth appears to be this. The stone is poisonous — 

 the pulp is not. In support of this assertion, I may 

 be allowed to refer, in particular, to a fatal case at 

 Oxford, which I communicated to the "Pharma- 

 ceutical Journal" (Nov. 15, 1879). The sufferer 

 was a boy of nine years of age, who, with two sisters 

 and a cousin, visited a cemetery, where they all 

 plucked and ate several "berries," but the elder 

 sister, in her evidence at the inquest, stated that the 

 girls spat out the stones, while the boy, on the way 

 home, " put a handful of berries into his mouth, and 

 crunched them up and swallowed them, stones and 

 all." He died in a short time. 



The active principle, taxine, exists in the stones 

 of the fruit, as well as in the leaves and bark, but it 

 must be modified in some way occasionally. I 

 suppose there is scarcely any one who has not eaten 

 the soft flesh of the fruit, possibly even swallowed 

 the stones, although without "crunching them up," 

 as in the Oxford case, as they are very hard and 

 bitter. This is probably the reason why there are so 

 few recorded fatal poisoning cases from this cause. 

 That the yew is poisonous, however, is a matter 

 which admits of no doubt. 



Robert Modlen. 

 Gilliiigham, Chatham. 



OLD ENGLISH PLANT-NAMES. 



THE following plant-names have been taken from 

 two old books on botany. I should be glad if 

 any one could give any information how the older 

 names originated, and whether they were general or 

 local. The books are Lee's " Introduction to 

 Botany," with a list of upwards of two thousand 

 English names (London 1765); and Berkenhout's 

 " Synopsis of Natural History," vol. ii. (1795). The 

 letter B indicates which have been taken from 

 Berkenhout. Another batch will be sent next 

 month. 



Old English Names. 



Bay-loblolly. 



Breakstone. 



White sengreen, B. 



Rape of cistus. 



Chinquapin. 



Coventry bell. 



Calf's-snout. 



Cammock. 



Cheese rennet. 



Podded corn violet, 

 B. 



Garter-tree or dog- 

 berry, B. 



Modern Synonyms. 

 Common St. John's wort. 

 Saxifrage. 



Saxifrage (S. granulata). 

 Asarum. 

 Common beech. 

 Canterbury bell. 

 Common toadflax. 

 Restharrow. 

 Crosswort (G. veruni). 

 Corn bellflower (C. hy~ 



brida). 

 Common cornel. 



