The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-11-05 00:00:00

POISON OF ACORNS.

Sir George S. Jeokinson, writing from Eastwood
psrk, Berkeley, Gloceitershire, Oct. 26, sent the fol-
lowing to The Times for publication :

About a week ago, I saw in The Times a letter warning the
public that acorns were • deadly million for cattle, causing
intenie inflammation of the stomach. Alas the warning
either came too late or wan not eitiliciently heeded: ter the
esthete this neighbourhood are d'ing by scores from having
eaten too many acorns when they fell in large quantities
during the gale about ten days ago I have myself lost
seven or eight valuable heifer., and have several more dying ;
but, worse titan that, many of the farmere near here, to
wham the lose will be a more serious blow in a pecuniary
point of view, have het, and are daily losing, numbers. In
fact, It is as des Ily and fatal as the rluderpeat. finco • beast
is taken ill nothing seems to have any *trent on the Intlam-
mattm which ensues, and death follow s more or less
quickly In each case, but it Is sure. I have tried everything
I can think of, and the veterinary surgeon who is attending
my stock says he can think ot nothing to effect a cure be-
yond the remedies he has already tried. It is the poison of
the disease that affects the Intestines and blackens and rots
away the mucous membrane.

My object in writing this Is to beg of Professor Simmons,
or any obey learned professor, or any one else, to suggest, if
possible, a remedy—ln tact, an antidote to the poison. For
a week past I have myrelf personally watched and attended
and superintended the drenching of the poor beasts affected,
doing nothing else, day or night, and It Is dreadful to see
their suffering and that every effort to cure them Is unavail-
ing I there( u-e venture to hope that, la the Interest of the
agricultural public, you will give this early Insertion in your
Wet, In the hope of some one being able to suggest a
remedy: and IS so, that any one who can do so will insert It
in The Times or swill write to me at once to my address.
P 0 —To prevent any mistake, it Is only the cattle that
have been out and that hare eaten largely of acorns that are
at all efrected,—at least, Shoals so in my own case.

In connection with the above subject, "W. M.
writes to The Times -

It was a pity that the rev gentlemen who, some weeks
ago. In your pages so strongly urged the value of acorns and
chestnuts as food for cattle did not also urge their being
boiled before given to the cattle. This cooking is of every
importance in the case. In the first place, it makes the food
of much greater use—at least quintuples its value. The chief
food constituent in acorns and chestnuts ..ise In potatoes Is
starch—i e., arrowroot; and if these be eaten raw a large
proportion of their starch paws away undigested. rdarch
consists of microscopic celle„yrhich are burst when the starch
e., the scorn—ls boiled, and then the starch, instead of
being a fine gritty sort of powder, becomes a really digestible
gelantibous Mikis, such as le, In fact, cooked arrowroot. In
the next place, if there really be in zooms an acrid substance
which acts like &poison, thl”crldity will in all probability he
destroyed by the boiling, jest in the same way as cooking, In
most cases, destroys the volatile poison of certain mush-

" South Down," Hawkhurst, Kent, also writes to
The Times:—

Allow me to assure your correspondent, Sir George S.
Jenkineon, that acorns are not poisonous if ripe and detached
from the cup that contain. them. I hove often used them in
fattening sheep, which hoc, eaten them a discretion irorn
troughs with impunity. After gales of wind the acorn le
torn off the oak, unripe, and frequently attaChed to sprigs
or even small branches of the tree. The famines, of the
animals for this epeciee off tod Cluau, thorn to swallow acorn,
cop, and sprig.
. .