34 
E. J. Ban field, writing in Proc. Roy. Oeog. Soc. Qld., 1909, speaks of tin- 
use of both D. ulighiosa and D. scandens, and gives " Bag-garra " as an aboriginal 
name. He says : 
The blacks tear up the plant branches, leaves, flowers and all coarsely bundle them together, 
and, wading into an enclosed pool where fish are observed, beat the mass (after dipping it into the water, 
and while held in the left hand) with a nulla nulla. The action is repeated until the bark and leaves are 
macerated, and then the bundle is thrown into the pool. In a few minutes the fish rise to the surface, 
gasping and making extraordinary efforts to get out of the infected water. Death ensues rapidly, but the 
tinh are quite wholesome as food. 
Following are exhaustive botanical and chemical researches on this plant : 
" No. 33. The anatomy of the stem of Derris uliginosa Benth.. an eastern 
fish-poison," by Pierre Elie Felix Perredes. 
/ 
" No. 34. The Chemistry of the stem of Derris uligwosa Benth. Frederick 
B. Power (Wellcome Chemical Research Laboratories, London. Extr. from Sclent. 
Sec. Amer. Pharm. Assocn., Philadelphia, September, 1902). 
Derris elliptica Benth., is largely used in Java in fishing, and appears to be 
also a constituent of the Borneo arrow-poison. 
Dr. Greshoff, of the Buitenzorg Botanic Gardens, has examined the plant. 
He finds that it has an exceedingly poisonous action on fish, a decoction of the 
roots being fatal, even when diluted with 300,000 parts of water. The only active 
constituent isolated is a resinous substance termed derrid, which does not contain 
nitrogen and is not a glucoside ; it readily dissolves in alcohol, ether, chloroform, 
and amyl alcohol, but is very sparingly soluble in water and potash solution. On 
fusion with potash it yields salicylic and protocatechuic acids. It occurs almost 
entirely in the cortex of the root, but has not yet been obtained pure. Its alcoholic 
solution has a slightly acid reaction and a sharp aromatic taste, causing a partial 
insensibility of the tongue, which remains for hours. A solution of one part in 
5,OoO,000 is almost instantly fatal o fish. (Ber. xxiii, 3, 537 ; Jo/o'ti. Chem. Soc. 
Ix, 335.) 
Tephros/a jsur/siirea Pers., is used in many tropical countries for the purpose 
ot stupefying fish for the sake of capturing them. Speaking of a Tephrosia, whose 
native name r>n the Cloncurry is " Jerril-jerry," Mr. Palmer says the aborigines USP 
it to poison fish or stupefy them. The whole plant is broken up and placed in 
small lagoons. 
Myrtaceae. 
There are but very few allusions to the use by the blacks of the all-pervading 
Eucalyptus vegetation for fish catching. The earliest I can find is by Sir Thomas 
Mitchell (Three Expeditions, ii, 24), who says, in speaking of the Lachlan: 
' There the river contained some deep pools, and we expected to catch fish ; but 
Piper (>ir Thomas' black interpreter) told us that the hole* bad been recently 
poisoned, a process adopted by the natives in dry seasons . . . All these holes 
were full of recently-cut bouahs of the eucalyptus, so that the water was tinged 
black " 
