18 MEMOIRS OF THE QUEENSLAND MUSEUM. 



obtained it is rubbed on to stones previously heated by fire. The stones being 

 then thrown into a creek or a little lagoon left by the receding tide, the poison 

 becomes disseminated, with fatal results to all fish and other marine animals." 



Approached as to his opinion as to whether the use of specific portions 

 of the plant was arrived at by accident or coincidence, " The Beachcomber," 

 whose numerous contributions to Queensland Ethnology are of the greatest 

 possible value, and M^ho speaks from first-hand knowledge, states: — -"I am 

 fairly certain, from the mental qualities of the race, that most of its discoveries 

 were accidental, though in the case of ' Koie-Yan' there must have been investi- 

 gation. I am of the opinion that the crescent of the fish-hooks was evolved from 

 the way in which a certain oyster-shell weathers on the beach, and that indeed 

 Nature showed the several stages of the process of making, for I have found 

 models of them all. Do not the inventions of the moderns i)rove the theory of 

 evolution? With few exceptions each embraces gradual improvements on the 

 original germ. In the case of most of the poisons it seems to me safe to believe 

 that they result from the happy chance." 



Dilute infusions of F. splcndida are potent and rapidly acting. Agitation, 

 subsequent stupefaction with approach to the surface, rapidly set in, and death 

 supervened in as short a period as one hour. The active principle is saponin. 

 Aqueous extracts show the characteristic foaming properties of saponin at 

 extreme dilutions, and hemolysis of blood corpuscles at final dilution of 1 : 4,000. 



Order ASCLEPIADE^. 



ASCLEPIAS CURASSAVICA, Linn. 



This plant, a native of the West Indies, is stated to have made its appear- 

 ance in Queensland somewhere about thirty years ago, and its adoption as a 

 fish-poison on the Don River (Sergt. Bonoline) is consequently comparatively 

 recent. 



The infused dry specimens ol)tained by us had no marked physiological 

 action in considerable concentration, except an apparent slightly stupefying 

 effect. Trout gudgeon were observed to continuall}^ approach the surface. The 

 use of the plant as a love-charm by Pennefather River district — the men being 

 reputed to rub themselves with it in order to compel a return of regard — is of 

 much interest. 



Order POLYGONACE.^. 



POLYGONUM HYDROPIPER, Linn. 



" BOORAGOOLAH," Lower Flinders River, N.Q. 

 " TANGGUL," Pine River, Q. 



T. Petrie ^^ recalls the use of P. hydropiper as a fish-poison by the Pine 

 Kiver natives, and says that the plant was pounded up wdth sticks and then 

 thrown into water, and the water stirred up with the feet. The use of Folygonum 

 sp. in this capacity is widespread, and is noted by Greshoff on various authority. 



*^ C. C. Petrie, Tom Petrie's Reminiscences of Early Queensland, dating from 1837, 

 Brisbane, 1!)04, p. 73. 



