THE ARSENATE SPRAY.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 139, 10 June 1909, Page 6

THE ARSENATE SPRAY.

PERFECTLY HARMLESS TO LIFE.

l£ will be remeihbered (says - the" NZ Times) that some time . since a child died at Taihapeirom-so it was stated—arsenical poisoning, consequent on the eating of plums which had been sprayed with arsenate of Jead. Immediately on the publication of this statement Mr T. W. Kirk, Government Biologist, instituted mauiries, writing both to the police and ■ffiSSh'Department for any information they had on the subject, as he Sa? quite convinced that the death vas Sot the result of eating plums sprayed with an arsenical preparation for experience had shown that it was not possible to eat sufficient fru t to obtain a fatal dose of arsenic by this means, as over two bushels of fruit would have to be eaten to provide a fatal dose. P The reports of the police and the medical officer of the district showed SS none of the plums were obtaW for analysis, or was a post-portem held so that no absolute evidence was forthcoming to support the statement. The Department of tfgnculTme then traced the plums, and found they had been grown in the Frimley orchards, in Hawke's Bay, and that they had never been sprayed Sth arsenic 7 at all, the only spray used on them being whale oil soap, Sd that in December .last,whilst the plums were not eaten till the SfddC of March, so that all trace of the spraying material must have disappeared long before, even had an arsenical spray been used. . Whatever the child died of, it was thus certainly not from arsenical poisoning due to eating plums. The evi-nce-showed that the child had been helping herself to plums—a great number from a case—unknown to the family, for several days before complaining of any pain. A VERY SATISFACTORY STATEMENT..

With a view to convincing the medical fraternity of the entire absence of danger in eating truit sprayed with- the commercial preparations, the Biologist invited 3>r. Mason and his staff to accompany .him to the Weraroa Experimental fetation, and there see the combined Bordeaux and f arsenate of lead spray mixed and applied in their presence, and that they should directly the spray was dry gather and pack the fruit themselves, the said fruit to be submitted to careful chemical analysis. Tims the test was particularly severe, as not a particle of the poison could have been removed, either by wind or otherwise. Dr. Mason was not able to be present at the test, but Drs. Frengley and McGill and Messrs Kirk and Boucher supervised the whole process. .. The analyst was especially asked to state what quantity of fruit it would be necessary to eat even to obtain a medicinal dose of arsenic. The apples (a) sprayed in the presence of the medical officers, and gathered and packed by" themselves within an hour of the actual spraying, gave the following analysis: —

Grains per lb. Grains per i Apples. Bushel (401b). Copper ... 0.105 4.20 Lead . ... 0.040 1.60 Arsenic . ... 0.011 0.44 Another sample (c), taken from a tree in the orchard sprayed in the usual manner during the season, viz., in October, with arsenate of lead arid Bordeaux mixture, and on five subsequent occasions—November 17th, first and last week of December, 14th of January, and in the second week of February, with arsenate of lead alone. These (the state, in which apples ordinarily reach market) gave, when analysed, the following result:— Grains per lb. Grains per Apples. Bushel. Copper ... l-90th 4-9ths Lead ... l-120th 4-25ths Arsenic ... l-900th 4-90ths These results, reports Dr. Maclaurin, Dominion Analyst, show that apples spiayed with arsenate of lead and bluestone in the usual manner during the season contain such • minjite traces of copper, lead and arsenic that they may be eaten with perfect safety. In-fact/ the amount of arsenic present is so small that one would require to consume two bushels (801b) "of apples, skins and all,* to get a full medical dose of arsenic. Even in the case of apples sprayed immediately before picking, two or three pounds could be eaten without producing serious results, and such apples would be completely freed from arsenic and lead by peeling. The report, it will be seen, i 3 entirely satisfactory, for the last spraying of fruit always takes place some weeks before gathering. It is palpable that no object'would be gained by very late spraying, whilst the grower would be wasting money.

Consumers may rest quite easy in their minds, as Dr. Maclaurin shows that they would have to eat eighty pounds of apples, skins and all, at a sitting, to obtain merely a medical dose., He does not tell, us; _however, what quantity;- would have to be consumed to obtain a fatal dose, but certainly many times eighty pounds.