247 
ON THE TOOT-POISON OF NEW ZEALAND. 
By W. Lauper LixpsaY, M.D., FLS: 
During a tour through the New Zealand provinces in 1861-1862, I 
was struck with the abundant evidences, which everywhere presented 
themselves, of the ravages produced among the flocks and herds of the 
settlers by the Toot-plant, one of the most common indigenous shrubs 
of these islands. In many cases of losses by individual settlers brought 
under his notice, the amount of loss from this source alone had been 
from 25 to 75 per cent. In Otago, particularly, were such losses felt 
during the height of the gold mania there, from July to December, 1861: 
the traffic between Dunedin and Tuapeka gold-fields required the service 
of large numbers of bullocks, a great proportion of which were lost by 
Toot-poisoning. In colonies, which as yet, at least, have depended for 
their prosperity almost solely on pastoral enterprise, such losses form a 
material barrier to prosperity; and the concurrent testimony of the 
colonists in every part of New Zealand proves the great desirability of 
determining the nature of the Toot-poison, the laws of its action on 
man and the lower animals, and its appropriate antidotes or modes of 
treatment. With a view to assist in the attainment of these aims, the 
author had made notes, on the spot, of a large number of instances of 
the poisonous or fatal action of the plant on man—adults as well as 
children—and the lower animals, and had brought specimens home for 
chemical examination. The chief results of is investigations may be 
thus stated :— 
1. The Toot-poison belongs to the class of Nareotico-irritants. 
a. Its action on man includes the following symptoms ;—coma, with or 
without delirium ; sometimes great muscular excitement or convulsions ; 
the details differing in different individuals ; during convalescence, Joss 
of memory, with or without vertigo. b. In cattle and sheep, they in- 
clude vertigo, stupor, delirium, and convulsions ; curious ‘staggerings 
and gyrations ; frantic kicking, and racing or coursing ; tremors. 
sembling the blackberry, which clusters closely in rich pendent racemes, 
and which is most tempting to children ; occasionally the young Shoots 
of the plant, as it grows up in spring : (5) to cattle and sheep, in al- 
