2 G 
VETERINARY TOXICOLOGY. 
man —a magistrate on the Boston bench —acquiesced in the 
finding, admitted his liability, and indemnified the farmer 
for his loss, as he had undertaken to keep the fences in 
repair. 
A scientific question of some importance arose regarding 
the disposal of the second carcass, and on which an expression 
of your opinion would, doubtless, be of interest to the readers 
of this Journal. 
The question was whether the carcass of an animal killed 
while in the agonies of death from poisoning by yew could 
be safely used as human food ? 
The carcass looked well; no inspector, however astute, 
could have detected anything wrong in it, and it was ex¬ 
pected to realise £30, but the fact remained that the animal 
was suffering from a poisonous dose of yew, and if he had 
not been killed would have very soon died. Under these 
circumstances I was at a loss whether to authorise its beiim 
sent to London or condemn it, and the subject being neAv to 
me I recommended the owner to have the opinion of another 
and more experienced practitioner. A neighbouring prac¬ 
titioner, of long and extensive experience, was consulted by 
letter, and replied that it could be used with impunity . It 
was despatched accordingly. 
On reviewing the facts as stated above, and from having 
seen a few similar cases as well as heard the reports of others, 
I think it may be conclusively affirmed that yew is a poison if 
eaten in large doses, and that, too, in the green state, and 
probably more so than in the withered, notwithstanding the 
popular notion to the contrary. If these two oxen did not 
come by their death from the yew leaves they took into their 
stomachs I am altogether at a loss to account for it, unless 
by referring it to the few laurel leaves which were found 
with the yew. 
Taylor, in his ‘ Medical Jurisprudence,’ page 199, says, 
“ There is a vulgar but erroneous notion that the yew leaves 
are not poisonous when fresh, and that in any case they act 
only mechanically. A case related above shows the fallacy 
of the opinion, and the other cases prove that there is a 
specific poison in the yew, since it exists in the berries as 
well as in the leaves. If cattle recover from the primary 
effects on the nervous system they are liable to die, after 
several days, from inflammation of the bowels. On one 
occasion I examined the viscera of an ox which obviously 
died from the effects of yew leaves. In some parts of the 
intestines gangrene had taken place.” 
He says also, page 198, “ It has long been known that 
