FUliLlSH ED BY J. B. RUSSELL , AT NO. 52 M ORTH MAR KE T STREET, (at the Agricultural Warehouse.)-T. G. FESSENDEN EDITOR^ 



VOL. X. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 14, 1831. 



NO. 32. 



(©sasawj^a'Siisjaosrsa 



ANTIDOTE TO THE POISON OF CHERRY 

 LEAVES. 



Jimaici Plain, Dpc. 9, I83i._ 

 Mr Fessenden — In consequence of the note in 

 your paper of 5lli October, relative to the poi- 

 soning of sheep by c.iling the leaves of wild 

 cherry trees, on the 19th of same month I put 

 a note in your paper hoping to have prociiroil 

 further information on the subject. Not obtain- 

 ing it as I had hoped, I was induceil to address 

 a letter to S. M. Tully, Esq. of Saybrook, Connec- 

 ticut. I have this day received an answer, which 

 I now inclose you for publication in the next New 

 England Farmer, as I think it calculated to do 

 much good. It convinces me that I have suft'er- 

 ed the loss of very many sheep and lambs for 

 .several years past without knowing' the cause. — 

 Aly pasturage is high and dry, and rocky, and being 

 an island they have water at cominan<l ; round I 

 the borders is a belt of wood, and in it very many 

 of the wild red and black cherry trees, largaand 

 small, on which I have now no doubt they have 

 eaten at pleasure — and probably by eating little 

 at a time in passing a small plant of it, the dis- 

 ease may have been a long litne in their sys- 

 tem without causing a speedy death as described by 

 Mr T. The cutting his large tree gave a large 

 quantity of feed on n sudden, of which it ap- 

 peared his sheep ate greedily, causing a sudden 

 death. I have directed every wild cherry tref and 

 bush, to be cut down while withoat leaves Rnd 

 carefully watched to prevent a further grow ih, und 

 hope to derive l)cncnt rrom it. — if I should anoth- 

 er year I will let you know it, as I know of no 

 other plant which could have caused the damage 

 we have experienced. I wish some of your me- 

 ilical subscribers would let us know if my con- 

 jecture is correct, that a sheep may eat a Utile at 

 a time of a poisonous plant, and have the |)oison 

 some time in their system before death ensues. 

 Yours respectfully, Joun Prikce. 



Saybrook, Con. Dcccmbor, 5, 1831. 

 John Prince, Esq. 



Sir — 1 received a line from you a few days since 

 respecting a notice that appeared in a public print 

 this fall some time, with my signature, in relation 

 to the poisonous qualities of the wild cherry, and 

 should have paid earlier attention to your request 

 but have been prevented through a multiplicity of 

 engagements ; but I now hasten to give you all the 

 information in my power. 



A few years since I had 16 or 18 sheep that 

 had access to a wild cherry tree that had been fell- 

 ed some time in the forenoon ; they ata of the 

 wilted leaves, which I was ignorant of, until one 

 or two hours after, when I discovered that they 

 were sick, and soon ascertained the cause ; two or 

 three of them died in 20 or 30 minutes after I first 

 observed that they were sick, and others appeared 

 to be in the agonies of death, when Capt. Noah 

 Scovill, a gentleman residing in the next village, 

 who happened to bo then passing by, and seeing 

 the situation of the sheep, recommended the plan- 

 tain as a speedy cure. I applied it according to 

 his direction, to some that were apparently but 



,r..=t ahve and they were almost instantly relieved , ous to cattle or sheep, when drv or £rreen hot 

 and to the best of my remembrance nearly cured only when in awiUtdslale ; whether this is I'fnrt 

 m 4 or 5 hours ; others more slightly affected ! that may bo relied on I am not ablo to sav but 

 seemed to be well in one or two hours after the I apprehend they arc most hurtful when in a wilted 

 plantain was used. The recipe was this— take a state, as I have often seen cattle cat of it whca 

 handful of the leaves of the common plantain, green without any apparent injury. 



e them and pour on a little hot water, squeeze 

 it through a cloth, add a little cold water that it 

 may not scald the animal, and it may be given im- 

 mediately ; less than half a pint is a sufficient dose 

 for a sheep. As I do not recollect ever having 

 seen a bullock poisoned in consequence of eating 

 cherry leaves, I cannot speak with confidence of 

 the plantain, as an antidote, but have no doubt 

 that it would be ns useful for neat cattle as for 

 iec[(. I am aware that some of our botanists and 

 hysicians think that the plantain possesses no me- 

 icinal property whatever; but that it operated ns an 

 antidote against poison, or a correcter of the 

 xtomach in the case above referred to, is, I think, 

 placed beyond a doubt, as it can be substantiated 

 by the testimony of 4 or 5 adults now iu my family, 

 and several of the neighbors, whoso veracity, 

 where they are known, cannot be questioned ; 

 neither can there ho any doubt, in the case I have 

 described, but that my sheep were poisoned with 

 wild cherry loaves, as they were seen by some of 

 the neighbors, eating leaves from the tree that had 

 been felled, and they could certainly get nothing 

 else at all hurtful ; in addition to this, I caused one 

 or two of those that had died to be opened, and 

 found the leaves in tho stomach, though in small 

 quantities ; I should think but a small handful in 



As to appearances of the disease, in shftep, I 

 should think there was something a little peculiar 

 at first, the ears drooping, panting with tho mouth 

 open, and tongue considerably out, trembling, stag- 

 gering, falling, convulsion, and death soon follow- 

 ing. I believe in most cases the poison of cherry 

 leaves operates in 3 or 4 hours. 



In this part of Connecticut, the wild cherry, to 

 use the popular name (the botanical name I do not 

 now recollect) is that which produces the fruit for 

 making cherry rum, and iu our forests grows to a 

 large size ; it is not however so abundant, as wal- 

 nut, oak, chesnut, birch or maple, but is about as 

 common as ash, beech, elm, &c ; when grown into 

 large trees and cut, they seldom grow from the 

 root ; but if ctit when small, they shoot abundantly, 

 indeed it is difficult to subdue them ; where there 

 are but few, a little salt, or brine, will effectually 

 destroy them, as it will all vegetation ; but this ex. 



It is several years since 1 have been obliged to 

 use the recipe above described and thougii it has 

 been in my possession some time, I did not make it 

 known to the public through the medium of the 

 press, as I supposed it to be in common u.se, 

 but any service that I can render an iudividua], 

 or the iiublic, in this way, will be done with cheer, 

 fulness. 



With sentiments of esteem, I remain, 

 Sit, your friend and servant, 



Samuel M. Tullt. 

 P. S. In rsspect to the raising of sheep, I would 

 remark that the farmers in this vicinity consider 

 high and rocky land the best for sheep ; the pas^ 

 ture is more jsweet, and nutritious and tho aif 

 more pure and healthy. 



Remarks by the Editor. — The foregoing papers 

 are very interesting, and important, aixd the wri- 

 ters have laid us under great obligations, and w* 

 think, greatly benefittoi! the |iublic by their commuv 

 nication. If any of our medical freinds, or others 

 can give information on this subject wc shall re- 

 ceive it with gratitude and give it an immediate in- 

 sertion in our paper. 



• HEATING HOT HOUSES. 



Mr Fesse\oe« — When,, and where, were the 

 ppinionsjiubsihed vp"^" -""-bWU Mt-l>upk;nK'iij"en- 

 ious and elaborato"commentary was written whicfc 

 appeared in your last No. .' If not printed, to 

 whom were they addressed? Di,| Mr Perkins 

 publish the whole or only part, and if part, waa 

 that part given in his own words, or in the wordj 

 of the writer ? Was it a criticism of Mr Perkins- 

 own plan, or of some other .' I ask this, because, 

 at the outset Mr Perkins treats it as a critique on 

 his own works, and in a tone of anxiety. Yet 

 afterwards, it would seem to have been a criticism 

 on a different plan, because it speaks of tivo upper 

 pipes, which I presume from his own descWptioii 

 Mr T. H. Perkins' apparatus has not. 



Is it not possible, that Mr Perkins has miscon- 

 ceived or misapprehended the writer whom he 

 answers? The reason I -ask this is, that in the 

 very brief view he gives of the writer's objection!, 

 it is plain, that he has sometimes misunderstood 

 him, and he may have so done in other cases. 



pedient would be both tedious and expensive, select a very important one. Mr Perkins renre 



The wild cherry is more common in our cultivated 

 fields than in the forest ; its growth is more rapid, 

 it is more fruitful, and there are more birds to 

 scatter the seeds ; from this circumstance, ihey 

 generally shoot up by the fences, where the 

 grass and weeds are not kept down. 



Many of our farmers consider the wild cherry 

 nearly as hurtful to English grain in producing 

 blast, as the barberry, and lam almost certain that 

 its shade is more injurious to any crop, than that 

 of any other tree. 



sents the unknown writer as objecting to his plan 

 of inserting the upper pipe 3 inches below tho 

 top of the boiler. To this objection Mr Perkin.s 

 replies, that this is neces.sary, because otherwise 

 the water would overflow. 'Now it is plain that 

 Mr Perkins did not perceive the force of the ob 

 jection. ' 



The objection was made to this very defect of 

 the boiler, which required such a waste of metal, 

 space, and heat. 



If Mr Perkins will reexamine the sketches oC 



A writer in one of the New Haven papers (I do the new boilers in Tredgold's and Mearn's articles 

 not now recollect %vhich) some time in the summer in Loudon's Gardener's .Magazine, he will see that 

 past, observes, that the wild cherry is not injuri- ' ihey ar« cluse boilers, aud the upper pipe ii insert- 



