Cattle Poisoned by Garden Shrubs.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 58, Issue 2, 20 February 1939, Page 129

Cattle Poisoned by Garden Shrubs.

Care Necessary in Disposal of Trimmings.

G. B. MELROSE,

Inspector of Stock, Te Awamutu

a juiiiiiuiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiißiiiiiiuiiiiiiHinniiiiiiinniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiininiiiiiuiiiiimiiiiniiiinttiiiiiiiiiH’iiiniiiiiiniiiinimiiniiiiniiniiKiiiiinii g Many mysterious deaths among stock can be avoided if the poisonous properties of garden shrubs are understood and extreme care is . exercised in the disposal of the trimmings. On one farm a number of cows died from the effects of eating trimmings of Irish yew. '' .■ • ■■ ' " : .'!<!!!

MANY mysterious deaths among all classes of stock can be traced to poisonous plants and, in some instances, to the indiscriminate disposal of trimmings of garden shrubs. ' Such a case came under the notice of the writer which, to the best of his knowledge, has not been recorded in New Zealand, although a similar case has been reported from the Te Kuiti district. It is obvious that extreme care is necessary in the disposal of trimmings from any shrub where a person is not thoroughly conversant with its poisonous properties. The case which came under the notice of the writer occurred on a farm, in the Te Rau-a-moa district, Otorohanga County. On the 29th August last the writer received an urgent message reporting sudden deaths among dairy cows. The owner of the farm was away from home for a few days, and had arranged with a neighbour to feed hay out to his herd. When half-way through the

feeding out the farmer noticed a dead cow, and half an hour later another dropped dead, to be followed by a third. To use the farmer’s words, “ It looked as though the cows had been shot.” A fourth cow showed symptoms of staggering, excitement, and slight salivation, but apparently this fourth cow did not consume sufficient of the plant to cause

death, and recovered after a large dose of linseed-oil had been administered as a drench.

Trimmings Eaten by Stock.

• Inspection of the paddock adjacent to the homestead and garden revealed a quantity of trimmings from garden shrubs in a more or less wilted condition, together with ' evidence of the trimmings having been eaten by stock, but chiefly the Irish yew. There is no doubt that the stock ate the trimmings, this being confirmed by the amount of leaves, stems, and buds found among the ingesta in the stomach. The post-mortem examination of the one cow revealed little in so far as action of the toxin on the organs was concerned other than a slight irritation of the lining of the fourth stomach and pin haemorrhages on the interior and exterior of the heart. Specimens of the plant showing the stem, leaves, and buds were forwarded to the Plant Research Bureau for identification. Dr. H. H. Allen, Government Botanist, identified the plant as Irish yew (Taxus baccata) and stated that it was definitely known to be poisonous. The bark, leaves, and buds of the plant contain certain toxic principles (taxine), and are especially likely to cause death if the stock are hungry. Death may be sudden, with hardly any preliminary symptoms. Where the action is less rapid, excitement, nausea, and vomiting occur, respiration slackens, and the pulse gets very feeble; the head is lowered and the eyes closed. * . * A quantity of the ingesta from the first stomach, with a section of the liver and heart, were , forwarded to the Chief Chemist, Mr. E. R. Grimmett, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, who reported as follows : “ The ingesta from the paunch contents contained taxine, the poisonous principle of the yew, to the extent of 29-5 mgms. (approximately half a grain) per kilogram. No taxine could be recovered from the other organs sent, but this has not much significance, as the substance is liable to decompose

fairly readily. From the symptoms described and the post-mortem and chemical findings there seems to be no doubt that the animals died from yew poisoning.” The chief chemist added that several cases in animals had been reported in New Zealand, one of the most recent being in February, 1937, when ten cows died at Taihape after eating cuttings from a hedge of English yew. (Annua! Report of Department of Agriculture for 1936-37, page 50.) Taxus japonica is another variety of yew which is extremely poisonous to live-stock.

Stock Tempted. The following information taken from H. C. Long’s "Poisonous Plants on the Farm ” may be of interest to farmers. The yew (Taxus baccata} is one of our most poisonous plants, but although the wood, bark, leaves, and buds are all injurious the scarlet mucilaginous cup enveloping the ripe seed may be eaten with impunity. The old leaves and shoots are the most poisonous parts, and cattle and horses readily eat them. Trimmings which have been carelessly thrown down have also poisoned animals which have eaten them. ,

Stock are perhaps more easily tempted to browse on the dark, green foliage in winter, when grass is not plentiful. Symptoms of poisoning are then liable to follow speedily, and death may supervene in some cases with extreme rapidity, giving the appearance that the anima! had been shot. Clippings from yew trees should never be thrown down where they can be eaten by stock. Several cases of human beings, particularly children, being affected are recorded when berries of the yew-tree had been consumed. • The United States Dispensatory records the death of a child four hours after consuming yew-tree berries (Dr. Jas. Thomson, Lancet, 17th October, 1868). The Irish yew is of upright growth,resembling a bundle of closely packed branches. The foliage is a very dark green, with small leaves. In conclusion, many of our beautiful shrubs are extremely poisonous to stock, as recorded by H. C. Long’s “ Poisonous Plants on the Farm,” and it is contended that many mysterious deaths among stock can be avoided if the toxic properties of the shrubs are understood and extreme care is exercised in the disposal of trimmings. / / •?

Burnt Bones not Advisable as Manure.

R. W. S. (Te Kuiti) Would it be a payable proposition to burn dry bones for top-dressing pastures ? What price could be paid for bones (not including cartage or sacks) ? What is the usual method of burning them ? How long does it take for them to disintegrate, or do they have to be pounded after burning ? What weight of the burnt bones would be a suitable dressing for pastures ? Fields Division : —■ It would not be a payable proposition to burn dry bones for pasture topdressing. In the burning of the bones nitrogen is lost, and the bone-ash which is left contains approximately 34 per cent, to 36 per cent, of insoluble phosphoric acid. Even allowing for the fact that you have plenty of wood on your property with which to burn the bones, the price of these—£4. 10s. per ton at the boilingdown works, Te Kuiti, plus cartage and burning—would make it an expensive slow-acting phosphatic fertilizer compared with superphosphate, which gives good results in your district.