140 VETEEINAEY TOXICOLOGY 



All these sources of information have been freely drawn 

 upon. As to the East, P. N. Windsor, in a useful little 

 book on 'Indian Toxicology,' remarks, after having de- 

 scribed a few well-known plant poisonings : ' So far as is 

 known, there are no other commonly used poisons. Un- 

 doubtedly there are numerous other poisonous plants in 

 India which are occasionally used for criminal purposes. 

 However, very little has been recorded as to their effects 

 and toxicology generally.' A similar remark seems ap- 

 plicable to Australia. But here, again, the labours of the 

 tropical disease and agricultural institutes — such as that of 

 Ceylon — will no doubt slowly unfold a wide field of know- 

 ledge. Many tropical plants have been well known for 

 a long time as the sources of valuable drugs, many of which 

 have received treatment in the preceding section. They 

 are not repeated in the present connection, although it is 

 possible that the plant may act as a vehicle of poisoning to 

 animals. 



As to Europe, the work of Cornevin, 'Des Plantes 

 V^n^neuses,' 1893, is an invaluable standard manual, to 

 which the author is greatly indebted. In our literature 

 there is a fairly large number of papers and abstracts on 

 vegetable poisoning, many of which have been drawn upon 

 for information. 



After considering possible alternatives, it finally appeared 

 most satisfactory to deal with the poisonous plants in the 

 sequence of their natural orders, although it is arguable 

 that a more rational procedure would be to classify accord- 

 ing to the pharmacological subdivisions of the active 

 principles. But such a classification is not satisfactory 

 because not precise, and it seemed better to follow the line 

 of least resistance — or, it is hoped, of least controversy. 



The writer would be most grateful to any foreign or 

 Colonial veterinarians, or others interested who may chance 

 to be readers, for any information relating to cases of 

 animal poisoning which they may have encountered, and 

 in particular those cases in which the plant implicated has 

 been identified botanically. 



