258 
THE  TOOT-POISON  OF  NEW  ZEALAND. 
pastoral  enterprise,  such  losses  form  a  material  barrier  to  pros- 
perity ;  and  the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  colonists  in  every 
part  of  New  Zealand  proves  the  great  desirability  of  determining 
the  nature  of  the  Toot-poison,  the  laws  of  its  action  on  man  and 
the  lower  animals,  and  its  appropriate  antidotes  or  modes  of 
treatment.  With  a  view  to  assist  in  the  attainment  of  these 
aims,  the  writer  has  made  notes,  on  the  spot,  of  a  large  number 
of  instances  of  the  poisonous  or  fatal  action  of  the  plant  on  man 
— adults  as  well  as  children— and  the  lower  animals,  and  had 
brought  specimens  home  for  chemical  examination.  The  chief 
results  of  his  investigations  may  be  thus  stated  : — 
1.  The  Toot-poison  belongs  to  the  class  of  Narcotic-irritants. 
a.  Its  action  on  man  includes  the  following  symptoms  : — 
coma,  with  or  without  delirium ;  sometimes  great  muscular  ex- 
citement or  convulsions,  the  details  differing  in  different  indi- 
viduals ;  during  convalescence,  loss  of  memory,  with  or  without 
vertigo. 
b.  In  cattle  and  sheep,  they  include  vertigo,  stupor,  delirium, 
and  convulsions ;  curious  staggerings  and  gyrations  ;  frantic 
kicking  and  racing  or  coursing ;  tremors. 
2.  The  poisonous  portion  of  the  plant, 
a.  To  man,  is  generally  the  seed,  which  is  contained  in  a 
beautiful,  dark  purple,  luscious  berry,  resembling  the  blackberry, 
which  clusters  closely  in  rich  pendant  racemes,  and  which  is 
most  tempting  to  children;  occasionally  the  young  shoots  of  the 
plant,  as  it  grows  up  in  spring. 
b.  To  cattle  and  sheep,  in  almost  all  cases,  is  the  young  shoot, 
which  is  tender,  and  succulent,  resembling  in  appearance  and 
taste  the  similar  state  of  asparagus. 
3.  The  following  Peculiarities  exist  in  regard  to  the  action  of, 
the  Toot-poison:—- 
a.  A  predisposition  must  exist,  such  predisposition  being 
produced  in  cattle  and  sheep  by  some  of  the  following  conditions 
or  circumstances : — The  animal  is  not  habituated  to  the  use  of 
the  plant;  it  suddenly  makes  a  large  meal  thereof  after  long 
fasting,  or  long  feeding  on  drier  and  less  palatable  materials, 
or  after  exhaustion  by  hard  labor,  or  hot,  dry  weather.  From 
some  such  cause  the  digestive  system  is  deranged,  and  is  sus- 
ceptible of  more  serious  disorder  from  the  ingestion  of  food  to 
