354 



NATURE 



[July 4, 1918 



CITTLE-POISONING BY WATER DROP- 

 WORT. 



W 



E have received from Mr. C. B. Moffat, of Ennis- 

 corthy, a note written at the suggestion of Mr. 

 R. J. Moss, registrar of the Royal Dublin Society, in 

 which the question is asked, " Is Oenanthe crocata 

 wholesome food?" The question is put owing to the 

 fact that about a month ago Mr. Moffat had occasion 

 to observe a herd of cows browsing on this plant, and 

 had been able to satisfy himself that no injurious 

 effects resulted.- As he justly remarks, the records of 

 death froin eating this plant leave no doubt as to its 

 usually poisonous character. He cites a case, investi- 

 gated by Mr. Moss in 1917, in which roots of this 

 plant were found among the stomachic contents of 

 four cows found dead on land that had been flooded. 

 He is, therefore, led to inquire whether the poison is 

 confined to the roots or if at particular seasons or in 

 particular localities the green parts of the water drop- 

 wort are innocuous. Cornevin (" Plantes Vdn^neuses ") 

 has stated that this plant, on which animals readily 

 browse, leads to cases of poisoning every year ; that 

 all parts of the plant are toxic, the root being par- 

 ticularlv so ; and that drying does not destroy the 

 noxious principle. Holmes (Pharm. Journ., 1902, 

 p. 431) refers to Oenanthe crocata as perhaps the most 

 dangerous and virulently poisonous of our native 

 plants. Long ("Plants Poisonous to Live Stock," 

 p. 37) has more recently cited a formidable number of 

 specific English instances confirming the judgment^ of 

 Cornevin and Holmes. Nevertheless, notwithstanding 

 the silence of these distinguished authorities on the 

 point, the question raised by Mr. Moffat is not new. 

 So long ago as 1845 an authority so eminent as the 

 late SiV Robert Christison (" Poisons," p. 860) e;x- 

 plained that while this plant has usually been held to 

 be one of the most virulent of European vegetables, 

 and seems well entitled to this character in general, 

 yet climate or some other more obscure cause renders 

 it inert in some situations. As Christison pointed out, 

 the plant has beea the subject of an uninterrupted 

 series of observations since 1570, when Lobel directed 

 attention to its poisonous properties. These observa- 

 tions show that in France, Germany, Holland, Spain, 

 and various parts of England so far north as Liver- 

 pool it is actively poisonous at all seasons of the year. 

 Yet the careful experiments undertaken by Christison, 

 while proving the virulence of the plant as grown near 

 Woolwich and near Liverpool, showed that the same 

 species as grown near Edinburgh is devoid of toxic 

 properties. It is singular that little more is known 

 now than Christison knew, and it is to be hoped that 

 those competent to deal with the matter may be in- 

 duced to undertake the research which is required to 

 settle the questions raised by Mr. Moffat's confirma- 

 tion from Countv Wexford of Sir Robert Christison 's 

 experience of three-quarters of a century ago as 

 regards Midlothian. 



. AERONAUTICAL INVENTIONS. 

 npHE Air Ministry wishes it to be known that the 

 -*■ Air Inventions Committee, which was formed 

 about nine months ago, has now received and 

 examined upwards of 5000 inventions and suggestions 

 relating to the Air Service. It is regretted that, owing 

 to war conditions, a detailed account of the investiga- 

 tions cannot be published, but the experience of the 

 Committee indicaces that it mav be possible to publish 

 certain information which will facilitate the work both 

 of the inventors and of the Committee. 



The following statement has been drawn up with 

 this object in view, but it is realised that it is incom- 

 NO. 2540, VOL. lOll 



plete for the reason just given. It is appreciated also 

 that inventors are placed at great disadvantages in 

 present circumstances, for, unless immediately con- 

 nected either with the Air Services or with aircraft 

 manufacture, it is almost impossible that they should 

 be acquainted with the most recent developments; 

 so rapid has been the tate of progress that it is 

 difficult, even for those in close contact with the 

 Royal Air Force, to keep abreast of all the latest im- 

 provements. Again, it is practically useless for in- 

 ventors at the present time to submit inventions which 

 would necessarily take a long time to develop, the 

 requirements of war and the conditions of labour and 

 material making it impossible for the Committee to 

 support proposals of this nature. 



Generally speaking, and so far as the period of the 

 war is concerned, no very startling change in the 

 present type of aircraft is anticipated, although im- 

 provements in parts and also in details are always 

 possible, and may produce very important results. 



The stage of development in construction which has 

 now been reached is such that major improvements 

 can be expected only from those possessing the 

 requisite scientific and mechanical knowledge, skill, 

 and experience. Thus radical changes in the shape of 

 the wings of aeroplanes, the body, and the propellers 

 are possible only after long and patient research 

 carried out in aeronautical laboratories. 



Again, many inventors have forwarded proposals for 

 helicopters and aircraft of this nature, which, if an 

 efficient design can be produced, would possess certain 

 advantages (but probably not so great as was once 

 imagined) ; others have suggested flapping wings and 

 rotatory planes. Such schemes do not give any pro-' 

 mise of being developed for use during this war, and 

 in any case would require some years of experiment 

 before they could be regarded as practical proposals. 



As regards minor improvements, inventors should 

 bear in mind that many details, such as turnbuckles, 

 clips, etc., are now standardised, and a change would 

 be justified only by some very marked superiority. 



Safety devices for preventing crashing of the 

 machine and the pilot form a numerous class. The 

 chief of these is the parachute, either applied by a 

 harness to the pilot or directly attached to the 

 machine. Those who have seen a passenger dropped 

 bv a parachute from an aeroplane for exhibition pur- 

 poses often fail to realise the conditions under which 

 a parachute may have to be used as a safety appliance. 

 Then the machine rhay be out of control, dropping at 

 a velocity of 150 to 200 miles per hour, or spinning 

 downwards in flames. Many other safety devices, 

 such as automatic stabilisers, wind-brakes, etc., have 

 been proposed at various times. The additional weight 

 entailed by the use of any of the suggested safety 

 appliances must remain a very serious factor for so 

 long as war conditions prevail. 



The engine is the heart of the aeroplane, and on 

 its trustworthiness depends the safety of the pilot. 

 Persons acquainted only with motor-car engine prac- 

 tice sometimes do not realise the exacting conditions 

 under which an aeroplane engine must work. The 

 engine must be capable of running for the whole of 

 the time of flight at its maximum power. The lubrica- 

 tion and ignition must be perfect, and the engine must 

 not become overheated. The rating applied to aero- 

 plane engines is the weight per horse-power, and 

 engines are now being produced which show surprising 

 results in this respect. Inventions which differ 

 radically from present-day practice (such as the 

 internal-combustion turbine) have small possibilities 

 of being adopted, for successive design and recon- 

 struction, entailing probably several years' work, are 

 necessary before satisfactory results can be hoped for. 



