154 S. DODD. 
to other plants, e.g., Huphorbia Drummondii. Sheep do 
not feed willingly on the plant, rarely touching it when 
other food is available; but they will eat it when other food 
is scarce or dry. On the particular station whence arose 
the enquiry, there was plenty of dry grass in the paddock 
where the deaths had occurred, together with a fair amount. 
of Solanum cinereum. Only some of the sheep had been 
eating the fruits of the latter and nibbling at a few of the 
leaves. Numbers of sheep did not touch either fruits or 
leaves. The former are generally eaten ripe. 
In the case causing the enquiry, there were 1,100 sheep 
ina particular paddock, and of these 45 died. It was not 
known what time had elapsed between the first eating 
of the berries and the commencement of the mortality, but 
some sheep had been observed eating them two or three 
weeks before any dead sheep were found. Thirty sheep, 
however, died, apparently suddenly and quietly, within a 
few days of each other, from what appeared to the owner 
to be the result of eating the fruits of the plant later on 
identified as Solanum cinereum. The reasons for this con- 
clusion were that the fruits had been eaten off plants grow- 
ing in the paddock, and also, when being yarded, the sheep 
were again observed to do the same thing. The same class 
of sheep in an adjoining paddock had not touched either 
Jeaves or fruits of the plant and no deaths had occurred. 
The owner also considered that this occurrence presented 
the same features as were noticed in connection with some 
previous losses, and which he also thought to be due to the 
same plant. 
In order to experimentally ascertain whether Solanum 
cinereum was toxic or not, Mr. White was requested to 
forward a consignment for that purpose. - About 10 tbs. of 
the dried mature plant were received, each plant carry- 
ing many fruits, but the latter were also quite ripe and 

