The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1881-11-15 00:00:00

DEATH OF A CHILD FROM SATING

BERRIES.

An induest wan held on fluor(ley at the Station Hotel,
rerkstone, before G. B. Aldridge, B•ci., borough coroner.
and • jury, of whom Mr. D. Hit, hinge was foreman. on
the boor of • shill nun fd Frank Rilff, the eon of labour-
ing parents, living at Salt-ends. There had been a
diversity of opinion between two medical men as t f the
cause of death, and hence the coroner felt it his duty to
have a post martens uthde and to hold the inquest. The
following evidence was taken :
Unmet Rolf, the mother of the child, stated her husband
was • platelayer on the railway. The deceased child wM
four years and four months old. He had been well of late,
and had attended school. On Tuesday. the Bth, about
half-pait three, she noticed that he was ill. Mr. Philpots,
who riad come to see the baby, she asked to see this child.
He did so, and said it was suffering from • bad cold. He
seemed to have a cold, and Dr. Philpota told her to give
him • warm bath, which she did at once and put him to
bed. On toe following morning (Wedneadayk.she sent for
the doctor, when he was " took for death. The child
was fount's, at the mouth at the time. Dr. Poilpota
sent • powder by her husband, which was given to it.
This hat no effixt, and about two hours after the child
died, lie went to school that Tuesday morning, and was
then quite well. On his return she asked him bow it WM
he had net eaten the dinner he had taken with him, and
he then said he bad been sick, and the mistress of the
school had sent hint home in wampum:ice of it.
By the Foreman: The child had been delicate for
time. but it had got well since—for the last lit months.
Mr. Rolff, platelayer on the Scowl Western line, said
on Wednesday monde', the Ott, he went for the doctor
about ten minutes to five. He child had been taken worse
then. The child slept with them, and it was making an
awful 110/10 as if it was being strangled. When he saw
the doctor, and he told him the child he had ordered to be
put in the bath was vary ill and be did not think it would
live, he (Dr. Philpots), gave him some powder and medi-
cine. Or. Philpou said he was poorly and could not come
at the time.

-Dr. practiidnit at Poole, said he
received inetructions from the deputy-coroner on the pre-
vious morning to make a post mortars examination on the
deceased. Teem was • slight bruise upon the head, but on
opening the scull he found that was not the cause of
death. The intestine, were empty, but the stomach con-
tained • green fllattOr, which, on examination with the
microscope, be found to coutain • vegetable colour matter
and vegetable cells. The largtr curvature of the stomach
showed signslof inflammation. Hie impression was thichild
died from souse narcoticsl vegetable irritant poisoning.
Toe colour of the berries growing around the game whore
the child lived corresponded to what he found in its

stomach.
Jamse Short, a little boy about 10 years of age, who said
he went to the same school as the di ctiteed, said his little
brother picked some bcrries out of the hedge and gave to
the deceased.
Mary Jane Baker. schoolmistress, Perkstone, said the
decsaaed had been at her sch )01 for sits3ut five weeks. On
Monday and Tuesday he was there, and on the latter day
he appeared to be quite well During the afternoon he
turned suddenly sick and vomited. She seat him home.
lie did not complain of anything.
The jury found that the child died from eating poisonous
berries.