POISONING BY LEAD SHOT. 157 



have made post-mortem examinations in similar cases. Mr. 

 Calvert wrote : " The following cases of lead-poisoning in 

 pheasants may be of interest to those who have large pheasant 

 preserves. A gamekeeper brought me for inspection a hen 

 pheasant which was partially paralysed in the legs, and low in 

 condition. On killing the same and opening the gizzard I 

 found thirteen leaden pellets of various sizes; the grinding 

 action of the gizzard had disseminated the lead with the food, 

 and the bird was surely but safely undergoing the slow 

 process of lead-poisoning. This was very evident on applying 

 the usual chemical tests, as I readily detected lead dissolved 

 in the food, and also traces in the blood taken from the region 

 of the heart. Two days after this the gamekeeper brought 

 another live bird. This one had been in a sickly condition 

 for two or three weeks, and was quite emaciated. The legs 

 were paralysed, and the feet drawn in a similar manner to 

 the drop-hand when lead has been the cause of poisoning in 

 the human subject. On opening the gizzard I found four 

 pellets, so that there is little doubt that this bird would soon 

 have died from the effects of lead-poisoning. 



"I understand last year some score of pheasants died 

 in the same preserve, all of them showing symptoms same 

 as above related. Both years the poisoning happened after 

 the coverts had been shot through. No doubt the birds 

 pick up the pellets under the delusion of being either food 

 or grains of sand ; perhaps the latter. When the birds died 

 last year the cause of death was attributed to there being 

 too many left for breeding purposes ; rather a strange 

 reason, seeing that the birds had been decimated on the 

 shooting day. 



" Others may have experienced something similar to the 

 above, without being able to give a satisfactory reason for 

 the birds dying; but where you have paralysed limbs and 

 a gradual falling off in condition, and should this happen 

 some weeks after the covert has been shot through, then you 

 may suspect that lead-poisoning is a probable cause." 



