386 
HORSES POISONED BY YEW. 
effects of aconite in disease of the chest upon two cows, on 
the first of March last, I am sorry to state was unsuccessful 
in both cases, probably owing to my being unpractised in the 
use of it. I will therefore solicit any member of our pro- 
fession to give it a trial, as a cure for the diseases it is 
adapted to, and give a candid report of its effects, observing 
that I myself have failed in its use. 
I am Sir, 
Your most obedient servant. 
Kirkaldy; June 14, 1854. 
HORSES POISONED BY YEW. 
By Geo. Waters, M.R.C.V.S., Cambridge. 
Sir, — The following cases of poisoning by yew (taxus 
baccata), may not be perhaps altogether without interest to 
the readers of your valuable journal. 
On Sunday, the 9th of April, 1854, a favourite bay saddle 
horse, the property of the learned Dr. W , Trinity College, 
Cambridge, was turned out, for the first time, into the pad- 
dock, behind the college; after having been treated for a lame- 
ness in the near fore foot, for about six weeks, with success. 
He was perfectly well, and feeding at the time the groom 
left him, and on his returning to fetch him up, in about four 
or five hours afterwards, the poor creature was discovered lying 
dead in the pasture, but quite warm as if he had just died. 
I was applied to for the purpose of ascertaining, if possible, 
the cause of the horse’s sudden death. On making a post- 
mortem examination, I found a considerable quantity of yew 
leaves and twigs, mixed with grass, in his stomach, which 
were agglutinated together with its mucous secretion, the 
whole forming a coarse, dry, indigestible-looking mass. The 
mucous membrane was considerably inflamed in patches ; 
the red colour showing a great contrast with other parts of 
the membrane that were not so much in contact with the 
yew leaves. With the exception of some slight congestion of 
the vessels of the cerebrum, every other part of the body 
seemed perfectly healthy. 
Some time previous to this occurrence 1 had an oppor- 
tunity of examining a highly-prized cob, for one of the 
Fellows of King’s College, in this University, that died 
under similar circumstances. There was nothing seen 
