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FISH-POISONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES. 
THE practice of throwing leaves, bark, &c., into streams and pools for the 
purpose of killing fish, or stupefying them sufficiently to enable them to be caught, 
is by no means confined to the aborigines of this continent, but appears to be 
practised by the natives of many tropical and subtropical countries. Attention has 
been drawn to the subject through the researches of the late Dr. Greshoff, attached 
to the famous botanic garden at Buitenzorg, Java, who subjected to chemical 
analysis the plants used for fish capture by the natives of that country.* So far as 
I know, no systematic attempt has yet been made to investigate the properties of 
the fish-poisons employed by our aborigines. As a very general rule, the plants 
employed by them are astringents or tanning agents, the tannin contained in which 
may be the cause of a temporary helplessness of the fish, which renders them an 
easy prey. I do not speak positively in regard to this, for I am inclined to think 
that usually the real active ageut is a saponin, to which some of our Acacia and 
other barks owe the persistent bitter taste they possess, and which is, of course, very 
different to astringency. The subject is one which might well be worked up by one 
who desires to do original work in connection with the properties of our indigenous 
plants. I should be glad to receive additions to the list of plants I submit as 
having been used by the blacks for catching fish. 
Following is (or used to be) the method employed by New South Wales 
blacks for catching fish by throwing wattle bark into streams or waterholes. In the 
case of streams, stakes were placed across, and a few wisps of wattle bark thrown 
into the water. In a little while the fish seemed to be intoxicated, knocked against 
the stakes, appeared bewildered, and the blacks, posting themselves near the stakes, 
took them out of the water. 
This stupidity or intoxication only lasted for about an hour. The fish caught 
by this method are in no way impaired as an article of food. 
Radlkoferf some years ago published a long list of plants which a*e used to 
poison fish, and added a history of the earlier literature. He lists some 154 species 
which have been used in various parts of the world for this purpose, and these 
plants belong to the following orders and genera. The species are listed under the 
poisonous species in another part of this work : 
Dilleniaceae (Tetracera], Menispermaceae (Anamirta, Abuta, Pachygone}? 
Cruciferae (Lepldiuni), Capparideae (Cleome), Bixaceae (Pangium, Hydnocarpus), 
Ternstroemiaceae (Caryocar), Tiliaceae (Grewia), Meliaceae (Walsura), Chail- 
letiaceae (Chailletia Tapura}, Rhamneae (Gouania], Sapindaceae (Serjania^. 
Paullinia, Sapindns, Dodoncea, Harpullia, Magonia), Hippocastaneae (Pavia) ;. 
Lestuminosae (Tephrosin, Milletia, Orobus, Abrus, Centrosemn, Clitoria, Cnmpto- 
sema, Phaseolns, Lonchocarpus , Derris, Piscidia, Bowdichiu, Cassia. Bauhinla, 
' See, for example, his " Fiah Poisons " (li. Kolf, Batavia) ; " Mededeelingen uit '8 Lands Plantentuin" (Batavia), 
vii, and subseiiueut Fur'.-. 
t hitz. Math- 1'hys. Clasee k. b. Akad. d. Wiss. Munohen., 18H6, 379. 
c 
