HEMLOCK DANGEROUS TO CHILDREN AND STOCK

Wanganui Chronicle, 19 December 1950, Page 2

HEMLOCK DANGEROUS TO CHILDREN AND STOCK

Almost every year at about this season instances occur of children being poisoned by hemlock. Hemlock poisonings also occur in stock in New Zealand, even though animals rarely eat the plant. All parts of the plant are poisonous, and the seeds especially so, and it is most toxic in spring and early summer. It has spread throughout the country, occurring mostly in waste places and on roadsides, and its danger to both human beings and livestock are emphasised by the Department of Agriculture. A biennial plant, in its first year hemlock grows very lush and green, but it does not bear flowers until its second year, when it may grow to five or six feet tall. Its most readily recognisable feature is the purple spots on the hollow stems. Children may mistake it for parsley or for carrot or parsnip tops, and they have been known to stew the seeds and to make whistles or pea-shooters from the stems.

Hemlock is a narcotic plant. Symptoms in human beings are a general and gradual weakening of muscular power and sometimes loss of sight; death may follow gradual paralysis. In animals general symptoms are salivation, bloating, bodily pain, irregular breathing, rapid, feeble pulse, and complete paralysis followed by death. Pregnant cows may abort. The Department of Health recommends the following emergency treatment for a case of hemlock poisoning in a human being: Give an emetic of salt and water or mustard and water, followed by a drink of tea without milk. Keep the patient warm until a doctor arrives.

Because herbivorous domestic animals cannot be made to vomit, the Department of Agriculture points out that such measures are not applicable to livestock. Denying animals access to the weed is the only possible precaution, and one particularly necessary with travelling stock. Hemlock sets seed prolifically, multiplies rapidly ,and can grow almost anywhere on settled land in New Zealand. Its virulent poison has been responsible for tragic results when the plant has been handled by children. Where even one plant is growing a child's life may be endangered, so the Department of Agriculture urges that incipient stands be eradicated at. once and that stray plants be destroyed as soon as they are recognised.