290 Transactions. 



young shoots that had been eaten. The jury appended the following rider 

 to their verdict : " The jury would recommend the Provincial Government 

 to keep up a standing advertisement in the pubUc prints warning persons 

 of the poisonous nature of the tutu plant, the young sprouts as well as the 

 berries, and also giving descriptions of the same " (5). 



Lauder Lindsay (3) records several cases that had been reported to him. 

 In one case about half a pint of berries were eaten shortly after the evening 

 meal. No effect was produced until 6 o'clock next morning, when, on 

 attempting to rise as usual, the subject suddenly lost consciousness till 

 11 a.m. He was then conscious for a minute or two, but almost immediately 

 relapsed into stupor, which continued for about twenty-four hours. When 

 he came to himself he had lost his memory, and for half a day was unable 

 to say where he was, or what he had been doing for the previous forty- 

 eight hours. He gradually recovered, and there were no subsequent bad 

 effects. Throughout the illness he had had no pain. 



In another case two young men partook of some tutu-berries, about 

 4 p.m. One swallowed the berries, the other sucked' them but spat out the 

 seeds. The latter was unaffected, but the former was seized with con- 

 vulsions about 9 p.m. The convulsions continued for about forty minutes, 

 and then the patient gradually passed into a state of coma, which continued 

 all next day. On recovering consciousness he was utterly oblivious of the 

 particulars of his illness, and denied having eaten the berries. He was 

 drowsy for a few days, but gradually recovered. 



In a third case, retching, vomiting, and convulsions were the prominent 

 symptoms. This case did not recover completely. A mental change, 

 which was permanent, remained after the acute symptoms had subsided. 



In a fourth case, in which particulars were given by Dr. Stewart, of 

 Tuapeka Hospital, insomnia was one of the earliest symptoms. This was 

 followed by tonic and clonic spasms, with coma, lasting for two days. 

 During recovery, entire loss of memory was observed. The patients — there 

 were two — did not know where they were, why they had been brought to 

 hospital, or what their occupation was. They did not recollect having 

 eaten tutu. 



In a case noted by Dr. Hocken, the symptoms included tonic and clonic 

 spasms lasting two days, coma, and loss of memory. 



Considering the highly toxic nature of the plant, it is surprising that so 

 few deaths from poisoning are on record. In the early days probably many 

 fatal cases occurred of which no record was made. Nowadays cases of 

 poisoning are rare. This may possibly be accounted for by the very dis- 

 tinctive appearance of the plant and the widespread knowledge of its poison- 

 ous nature. No one who has once seen tutu is likely to mistake it for any- 

 thing else, and every school-child knows that " toot " is poisonous. More- 

 over, near the large centres of population the plant is not often now met 

 with in places readily accessible to young children. 



Among flocks and herds the mortality has also fallen, not because, as is 

 sometimes supposed, the animals have acquired immunity or tolerance, 

 but because in the more highly cultivated districts tutu has been largely 

 exterminated. Sheep and cattle when moved from place to place are now 

 sent by rail rather than driven. This alone has considerably reduced the 

 mortality, for driven animals are particularly prone to sufier, and tutu is 

 the commonest roadside plant in many districts. 



The farmer, too, taught by experience, has become learned in the ways 

 of managing his stock in relation to tutu. He takes care to avoid " toot " 



