80 Liliacex [ch. 



meadows in many districts in England and Wales. All parts are poison- 

 ous, both in the green state and when dried, as it possibly may be, in 

 hay. It has caused extensive losses of live stock, and the greatest care 

 should be taken to eradicate it from grass land. The leaves and seed- 

 vessels are produced in spring, and the flowers from August to October 

 — and it is at these two periods that cases of poisoning by this plant 

 are most frequent, though, as stated, it may be included in hay. Many 

 horses, cattle, and pigs have been killed by Meadow Saffron, though 

 cattle commonly avoid it. Sheep and goats are believed to be very 

 slightly affected. Children and fowls died at Schorren (Canton Berne) 

 from eating the seeds, and there have been many cases of human poison- 

 ing due both to eating the seeds and the bulbs. In Staffordshire, 

 Mr. J. C. Rushton reported some years ago^ that in one year a 

 farmer lost seventeen milking cows; in 1908 he lost seven calves; 

 and in 1909 he lost a number of sheep and cows. It was then discovered 

 that the field in which the animals grazed contained " any quantity of 

 Meadow Saffron and Water Hemlock," and this was the cause of the 

 losses. Horses and cattle are more commonly poisoned than other 

 domesticated animals. Johnson and Sowerby record the case of a woman 

 who ate the corms in mistake for onions at Covent Garden, and died ; and 

 state that deer and cattle have been killed by the leaves. Kanngiesser 

 notes that this species is the most toxic of German plants, and that in 

 cases of human poisoning the mortality is 90 per cent., children being 

 chiefly affected. Comevin's experiments showed that 8 to 10 grammes 

 of green leaves per kilogramme of live weight — ^say 3 to 5 lb. for 

 an average cow — was suflGicient to kill ruminants; while 30 centi- 

 grammes of corms per kilogramme of live weight sufficed to Mil pigs — 

 say 4| oz. for a pig of 200 lb. live weight. Barret and Remlinger 

 (Veterinary Journal, 1912, p. 306) record the sudden illness of 31 out 

 of 51 cattle, and 5 of them died. 



The toxic principle is cumulative, that is, small quantities of the 

 plant eaten regularly may result in poisoning, owing to the poison being 

 slowly eliminated by the kidneys. Indeed, cases have been recorded 

 in which the poison has been secreted and ehminated in the milk of.cows 

 and so has caused poisoning of both calves and infants. 



Toxic Principle. Meadow Saffron contains in all parts the acrid, 



poisonous alkaloid Colchicine (CaaHjjgNOe) stated by Esser to occur to the 



extent of 0-2 per cent, in the corms, 0-4 to 0-6 per cent, in the seed coats, 



but only traces in the leaves. Hertel obtained 0-38 to 0-41 per cent, of 



1 Staffordshire Weekly Sentinel, Aug. 21st, 1909. 



