

POISONING FROM FLOWERS 65 



but it may be said in this connection that honey collected from the Heather in 

 Scotland is not poisonous. 



Barton, an early American botanist, reported poisonous honey in New Jersey 

 as early as 1794. Subsequently Coleman reported a large number of cases in 

 1852, and Gammer in Gleanings in Bee Culture and several writers in the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal reported poisonous honey. Other writers like Chesnut and 

 Crawford have reported on the occurrence of poisonous honey in the United 

 States and Kebler reports no less than eight cases for New Jersey in 1896 and 

 believes that it is much more common than the records seem to indicate. Kebler 

 was fortunate enough to investigate some of the poisonous honey following a 

 case of poisoning in New Jersey. He examined a part of the comb of the dark 

 honey which had a light brown color and a nauseating odor, pungent taste, caused 

 a burning sensation in the back of the mouth similar to that of aconite. Persons 

 who partook a small amount of this honey began to cough immediately. He also 

 made a chemical analysis of the non-suspicious honey, digesting with alcohol 

 then evaporated, the residue was again treated to alcohol and evaporated and 

 administered to two cats. One received a small dose and the other a larger one. 

 The results from the cats were so interesting that I quote from Prof. Kebler. 1 



The small dose produced partial exhaustion, relaxation of the voluntary muscles and gen- 

 eral depression. The large dose in a short time produced restlessness, vomiting, purging, 

 prostration and almost complete loss of the voluntary muscles, showing that the honey con- 

 tained a prompt and potent poison. The animal could scarcely be induced to move, and when 

 motion was attempted, first the fore-limbs would fail, and then the back limbs would give way. 

 First one portion of the body would sway in one direction, then the other portion in another, 

 reminding one of a highly intoxicated person. Had the entire dose been retained, death un- 

 doubtedly would have followed. As it was, the cat had regained her normal condition only 

 at the end of twenty-four hours. 



Along with this we may append the symptoms as recorded by the physician 

 who attended the persons who were poisoned: 



Mr. and Mrs. Chambers took but a small quantity, yet each noticed a peculiar, pungent, 

 burning taste in the comb as soon as it had passed their lips. In fifteen or twenty minutes 

 afterwards, Mrs. C. was taken with nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting, soon followed by 

 loss of consciousness, coldness of extremities, feebly acting heart, and complete collapse. While 

 ministering to her, Mr. Chambers, who had also experienced the initiatory symptoms of pain 

 and nausea, suddenly exclaimed, "I cannot see," and soon sank in a state of syncope to the 

 floor. In each case the symptoms were similar. Retching, vomiting, purging, acute gastric 

 and abdominal pain, and continued cramps for some hours, with surface coldness, and deadly 

 pallor, and the general symptoms of collapse. 



Kebler was, however, unable to definitely locate the andromedotoxin found 

 by Plugge. 2 This author recorded it for a large number of plants as follows: 

 Andromeda japonica, A. polifolia, A. Catesbaei,, A. calyculata, Kalntia latifolia, 

 Monotropa uniflora, Pieris formosa, P. ovalifolia, Rhododendron grande, R. 

 barbatum, and R. fulgens. It has been recorded for additional plants by 

 Greshoff who mentions the following plants which produce poisonous honey, 

 Nerium oleander, Cytisus Laburnum, Pieris ovalifolia, Callotropis procera-, 

 Daphne, Pontica, Buxus balearica, Clcrodendron serratum, C. Bhramaramari, 

 Sapindus emarginatus. (It is said that thousands of bees are killed by this honey.) 

 Centaurea scabiosa, Carduus natans, Scabiosa succisa. A South African species 

 of Euphorbia also produces a poisonous honey which was not noted by Greshoff. 



1 Proc. Amer. Pharma. Assoc., 1896:170. 



2 Arch. d. Pharm., 229; 552, 1891; Am. Jour. Pharm. 63:603. Shresh, J. C. Notes on 

 Trebizonde Honey. Pharm. Jour, and Trans., 18:397, 404. 1887-88. 



