1864.] lawson's botanical notes. 9 



it now requires an exercise of the observing powers that none but 

 genuine botanists can endure. 



19. The Toot Poison of New Zealand. — Dr. W. Lauder 

 Lindsay, F.R.S.E., has published a paper (read to the British 

 Association) on the Toot Poison of New Zealand, a poison 

 which has of late years committed great ravages among the 

 flocks and herds of the settlers. It belongs to the class of 



-narcotico-irritants. The poisonous parts of the plant to man 

 are usually the seed contained in a beautiful dark purple lus- 

 -cious berry, resembling the blackberry, which clusters closely in 

 rich pendant racemes, and is most tempting to children. The 

 young shoots, which are tender and succulent, resembling aspara- 

 gus in appearance and taste, are eaten by cattle and sheep. Robust 

 cattle habituated to its use do not seem to be affected ; but animals 

 -suddenly making a large meal of it after long fasting, or after long 

 feeding on drier or less palatable materials, or after exhaustion by 

 hard labour, hot dry weather, or a fatiguing sea-voyage, are sure 

 to suffer from its use. It causes vertigo, stupor, delirium, and con- 

 vulsions, curious staggerings and gyrations, frantic kicking and 

 racing or coursing, and tremors. In man the symptoms are coma? 

 with or without delirium, sometimes great muscular excitement or 

 -convulsions. During convalescence there is loss of memory, with 

 or without vertigo. Dr. Lindsay states that in many cases of 

 loss of cattle by individual settlers, the amount of loss from 

 toot-poisoning alone had been from twenty-five to seventy-five per 

 cent. 



The destructive plant in question is named Coriaria Tutu, 

 Lindsay. It is C. ruscifolia of Linngeus, C. sarmentosa, Forst., 

 etc., names to which the author objects as inapplicable. The 

 whole genus needs revision ; most of the species are more or less 

 .poisonous. The New Zealand settlers owe a debt of gratitude to 

 Dr. Lindsay for the trouble he has taken to investigate the Toot 

 poison. 



20. The Chinese Green Dye. — From a report of the Agri- 

 Horticultural Society of the Punjab, just received from L. A. 

 Stapley, Esq., it appears that that institution is in a thriving 

 and active condition. At the Societv's meetino- on 22nd July, 

 1863, plants oi Rhamnm utilis, which yields the celebrated Chinese 



.green dye, were shown. It was resolved, with reference to the 

 -facility with which this plant appears to be propagated in the 



