556 FATAL EFFECTS OF THE LEAVES OF COMMON LAUREL. 
ing dissolution. I again warned uiy employer, as I had done 
several times before, of the unfavourable appearance of the case. 
He expressed much anxiety respecting this peculiar breed of 
cattle. The calf, however, continued to suck during the day, 
and our patient died at five o’clock in the afternoon. 
Post-mortem examination . — On inspecting the abdominal 
cavity, the whole of the viscera presented a healthy aspect. Pe- 
netrating into the cavity of the thorax, the lungs assumed a 
more blanched appearance than natural, and, cutting into the 
substance of the heart, I found a polypus adhering to the interior 
of the muscular parietes of the right auricle. On carrying my 
examination to the right ventricle, a similar morbid structure ex- 
hibited itself, adhering to the muscular substance of that cavity, 
and which, when removed, weighed from five to six ounces. 
On conversation with the owner, I was informed that he had 
previously lost two calves about the same age, and both by the 
same cow, exhibiting the same symptoms previous to death. 
THE FATAL EFFECTS OF THE YOUNG LEAVES OF THE 
COMMON LAUREL WHEN EATEN BY DUCKS. 
Bif Mr. Robert Read, V.S . , Crediton. 
Mr. Tr em lett, of Lower Creedy Farm, has for several years 
past lest nearly the whole of his ducks, when about three or four 
months old, in a very singular manner. There is no symptom of 
illness as a precursor. They seem to be in perfect health only a 
few minutes before they are seized, and then all at once a pecu- 
liar nodding of the head comes on, followed by vertigo and insen- 
sibility and death. Not more than from three to five minutes 
occur from the commencement of the first symptom to the termi- 
nation of the affair. 
Curiosity led to the opening of some of them, when a con- 
siderable quantity of the young leaves of the laurel was found in 
the crop and gizzard. There is no doubt that the leaves remained 
inert while in the crop of the ducks ; but as soon as they reached 
the gizzard or true stomach, their specific action commenced, 
producing symptoms similar to prussic acid, when animals are 
poisoned by it. 
This interesting case should operate against farmers planting 
laurel shrubs in the pleasure-grounds adjoining their poultry 
yards, or any other place to which the ducks can have access. 
