VETERINARY TOXICOLOGY. 
27 
the berries and leaves of the yew tree (Taxus Baccata) are 
poisonous to cattle ; they act very energetically and produce 
death in a few hours, sometimes Avithout vomiting or 
purging. It is stated by Dr. Percival that a tablespoonful 
of the fresh leaves Avas administered to three children of five, 
four, and three years of age, as a vermifuge; yawning and 
listlessness soon succeeded; the eldest vomited a little, and 
complained of pain in the abdomen, but the other tAvo 
suffered no pain. They all died Avithin a feAv hours of each 
other. An interesting case of poisoning by the berries of this 
tree Avas published a feAv years since by Mr. Hurt, of Mansfield. 
A child, aged three years and a half, ate a quantity of yeAV 
berries about eleven o’clock. In an hour afteiuvards the 
child appeared ill, but did not complain of any pain. It 
vomited part of its dinner, mixed Avith some of the berries. 
A medical man Avas sent for, but the child died of convul¬ 
sions before he arrived. On inspection the stomach Avas 
found filled Avith mucos and the half-digested pulp of the 
berries and seeds. There Avere patches of redness in the 
mucous membrane, and this Avas so much softened that it 
could be detached Avith the slightest friction. The small 
intestines Avere also inflamed. The symptoms produced by 
yew leaves and berries are pretty uniform in character; con¬ 
vulsions, insensibility, coma, dilated pupils, pale countenance, 
small pulse, and cold extremities, are the most prominent.” 
The appearances I have recorded agree Avith those quoted, 
as observed by Mr. Hurt, and also the symptoms so far as I 
Avas permitted to observe and as far as analogy can go. 
Cases of yew poisoning in quadrupeds are rarely seen until 
the poison has done its fatal Avork, so that Ave are unable to 
obseiwe the peculiar train of symptoms occurring in bipeds, 
Avho can usually inform the inquirer as to the time, nature, 
and amount of the poison SAvalloAved. It is only by the pre¬ 
sence of the plant in the stomach—and that too in large 
quantity, at least in all cases I have seen—the lesions 
observed and the absence of other causes, that Ave are enabled 
to form an opinion. 
The symptoms observed by the shepherd in these cases, 
viz. trembling violently, convulsions, falling doAvn, and 
inability to get up for some time, agree pretty closely with 
those recorded in the human subject. 
