286 SENECIO JACOBAEA & CALLIMORPHA JACOBAEA — -POOLE, 



and has named them senecifoline and senecifolidine. These 

 alkaloids amounted to 1.72 per cent, of the plants in the crude 

 state before flowering, and 0.76 per cent after flowering. 

 These two bases were sent to me for pharmacological examin- 

 ation by Prof. W. R. Dunstan, and I have done a number of 

 experiments with them, chiefly upon cats." 



(3). "The symptoms and post mortem findings in 

 animals poisoned with these alkaloids resemble so closely 

 those described bj' Gilruth, Chase, Pethick and others, in 

 cattle and horses, that there can be no question that the cause 

 is the same in each and that the Pictou, Winton or Molteno 

 disease is really more or less chronic poisoning with the 

 Senecio alkaloids." 



(4). "The experiments hitherto detailed were performed 

 with the alkaloids of Senecio latifolius, which, as has been said, 

 is held responsible for some of the epidemics in South Africa; 

 and my results indicate that these alkaloids are capable of 

 inducing the symptoms and lesions characteristic of the 

 disease. The Senecio Jacohcea which has been shown to be 

 responsible for the disease in New Zealand and Canada, grows 

 in profusion in England and Scotland, but inquiries made in 

 various parts of the country indicate that poisoning with this 

 plant and hepatic cirrhosis are unknown here." 



(5). "These results would therefore seem to indicate 

 that the S. jacohaea is devoid of the toxic properties of S. lati- 

 folius, whether the plant is grown in England or in Canada. 

 This is however incompatible with the results of Gilruth and 

 Pethick, who showed definitely that the disease in Canada and 

 New Zealand is due to this species. The discrepancy between 

 these results and mine may probably arise either from the 

 plant from which my preparations were made having been 

 collected at the wrong season, or possibly from the poisonous 

 principle having undergone change into some inert form in the 

 course of preparation or drying." 



