POISONS FBOM JUNGLE PLANTS 171 



of monkeys to strychnine has been mentioned by other 

 observers, and it may explain some of the jungle-craft 

 of the wild tribes in choosing different poisons for 

 different animals. In the Pharmaccuiical Journal of 

 March 28th, 1874, the follomng reference is made : 

 " Plants which are poisonous to some animals are not 

 so to others. Strychnia has no effect upon invertebrate 

 animals and is said not to poison monkeys. . Many of 

 the poisons ivhieh destroy life of man and other carni- 

 vora are eaten with impmiity by graminivorous animals. 

 Thus, opium does not poison pigeons j tobacco and 

 hemlock do not injure goats ; and stramonium, henbane 

 and belladonna are eaten by rabbits " (E. M. Holmes). 

 Seligmann, again, has shown that fowls, and to a less 

 degree pheasants, possess a high degree of immunity to 

 the poison of the upas tree (antiarin) when it is injected 

 subcutaneously ; but pigeons, on the other hand, are 

 killed by this poison with startling rapidity (Ref. 21), 



The Malay jungle-folk have special markings on their 

 blowpipe darts by means of which they differentiate 

 then- various poisons ; and among the savage Malays of 

 Johore (B^mm-Jakun) there is an elaborate system of 

 marking the poisoned darts, by means of which their 

 different strengths can be recognised and their suit' 

 ability for killing either large or small game kept in mind 

 (Ref. 22, p. 3B1). The poison of the upas tree may be 

 specially marked on the darts to distinguish it from the 

 totally different poison obtained from akar ipoh, more 

 especially when each is used by itself and not mixed 

 with other things. Sometimes the wild orang bukit 

 (hill-men), cut out the flesh round the wound before 

 eating animals killed by darts tipped with poison 

 (antiarin) obtained from the upas tree ; but it is 

 uncertain whether they always do so in the case of the 

 akar if oh poison. It has been proved that the former 



