ORGANIC AND INORGANIC POISONS 231 



flowers with yellow centres. It is a shrub of a trailing 

 character with green berries which subsequently become, 

 when ripe, red. The belladonna, or deadly nightshade, 

 also known as the common dwale, flowers in June, the 

 flowers being of a dusky brown. In spite of its poisonous 

 effects as miich as 8 lb. have been given to a horse without 

 any bad results. An extract prepared from the leaves is 

 extensively employed in veterinary practice. 



The hemlocks are characterised by their hollow stems, 

 their compound leaves and the compound nature of their 

 inflorescence. They belong to the same family as the 

 parsley, celery, etc. The water hem.lock is fairly common 

 in ditches and ponds, whilst the spotted hemlock is often 

 found growing on banks, around woods, etc. Both the 

 stem and the leaves are spotted. The poisonous symp- 

 toms produced by these plants are variable, but usually 

 those indicative of colic followed by collapse. In cases of 

 poison by any of the foregoing plants first-aid treatment 

 comprises the administration of a pint of linseed oil 

 mixed with half a pint of gin, the whole to be adminis- 

 tered immediately the symptoms are observed. In every 

 suspected case of poisoning the earlier professional 

 assistance is obtained the better. 



Arsenic is occasionally surreptitiously given to horses 

 by carters and grooms, and the doses are often sufficiently 

 large to kill a horse. It is used in the form of arsenious 

 acid or arsenic trioxide, and it is a heavy white crystalline 

 powder. The proper dose for the horse is from 4 to 8 

 grains, but horse dealers have been known to give as 

 much as would lie on a shilling, and this would probably 

 weigh 3 or 4 drams. The administration of such lethal 

 doses has, on numerous occasions, landed the horse- 

 keeper in prison, and rightly so. Even when this drug is 

 prescribed medicinally by a professional man, its effects 

 have to be watched, as it is one of those substances which 

 have a tendency to accumulate in the liver, from which 

 it may at any time be suddenly swept into the system. 



