MILK POISONING CASE AT MOUNT EDEN.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1734, 4 September 1875, Page 3

MILK POISONING CASE AT MOUNT EDEN.

Yestkeday afternoon, about the hour of publication, Mr William Grace, of Auburnstreet, off Kyber Pass Eoad, called at our office in great distress with the notice of the death of his little child, and made the following statement:—" I keep goats, which feed on Mount Eden. On Wednesday night, at 10 o'clock, they were in good condition. Early on Thursday morning 1 milked one of these before going to work. I noticed a small lump about the size of a pea on one teat. Otherwise the goat seemed all right, and I milked it and went to work, leaving my four children in bed. I used a little of the old milk for my breakfast. _My wife took some of the milk and mixed it with some beastiugs from a goat that had kidded and made a little custard of it. The children all partook of it, and my wife took about a spoonful. On returning from work I found my wife and all the children prostrated. The eldest girl had gone to school, and upon proceeding there I found she also was very ill and had been taken to a neighbour's house. I got some brandy and gave it to her, and she vomited about a pint of the most horrible stuff I ever saw. I carried her home, when the others continued vomiting and very ill, especially the little girl three years six weeks old, and the second eldest. My wife also continued retching all day. The little girl got worse during the night, and at a quarter to five o'clock this (Friday) morning she died. Dr Young, whom I had sent for, had arrived a short time previous. Upon examining the goat, I found the udder on oce side only very much inflamed, while the other side was sound. The animal also was in a sickly shaky state. I am convinced it was poisoned. I could not find any scratch or wound on the udder, but still believe the animal had been poisoned maliciously. The only way it could be done that I can see would have been by forcing the poison up the milkspout. Dr. Young believes the milk to have been the cause of the illness of my family, but does not think the goat had been poisoned. I have had a good deal of experience with milk, have had beastings, and I never knew anything poisonous which goats might eat affect the milk. Dr. Stock well was also called in to consult with Dr. Young, and I am thankful my wife and other children are recovering, although one is still in great danger. I firmly believe the goat was poisoned and all this trouble brought upon my house through some malice. All the children were fine healthy ones." The foregoing is the substance of Mr. Grace's statement, but we may add that Dr. Young considers the beastings sufficient to account for the evil effects developed, and ' has given a certificate for the burial of the child without an inquest, death having in his opinion resulted from improper food. The case, however, is a singular one, and an inquest would have tended to throw more light on the subject, and been useful to others keeping goats and cows.