The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1904-07-12
INSTINCT SAVES FROM DEATH
Few Animals VIII Eat Poisonous
Food Unless Well Dis
s1ised.

That ANIMALS OF every species Gail
detect poison in food is we'll known
fact. Disguised though it may be, the
deleterious matter is discovered and
instantly rejected unless disguised by
artificial means. AS a rule dumb
brutes seem to have very little sense
OF taste upon the palate. But carniv-
orous animals have a kind OF half
way" sense between taste and stom-
-acheache which very soon tells them
when they have taken poison or any
thing likely to disagree with them,
and nature has kindly arranged that
they can get rid OF it by the throat
with very great ease.
Wolves, tigers. leopards and all
other carnivora are difficult to poison
because OF the power which they have
OF rapidly getting rid OF the drug.
Lions. on the other hand, are very fre-
.quently poisoned. as they eat vora-
ciously and quickly, more like dog
than the other large felidae. 1t is
said that good many lion skins, es-
pecially those brought back by for
eign counts and others from Somail-
land, were obtained by til" unsports-
,manlike method OF poisoning carcas-
:ses and leaving til EN- for the lions to
devour. Cattle. which have no less
than four stomachs, are hopelessly
poisoned if once they. have swallowed
a dose, whether in a toxic plant or
otherwise. 1t is the curious arrange
ment OF their interiors which makes
it such difficult matter toi give cat
tie medicine at all.
In common with human beings ami
mails seem to be affected by poison in
certain forms when in a particular
condition OF health. At other times
they can eat the same plant or shrub
with impunity In certain states of
health man can eat pork, Holsters,
cookies, scallops and other somewhat
risky foods without bad effects. At
other times the same edibles would
produce on him the effect Of ptomaine
poisoning. Two persons may eat OF
the same food at the same time, and
while one is perfectly we'll afterward,
the other may become violently i'll.
The curious cases of yew poisoning
among cattle or horses seem to be
somewhat analogous They will some
times browse on shoots of yew and
take no harm whatever. At other
times they are obviously made i'll or
die from eating the leaves. They
have even been found dead with the
yew fresh and undigested in their
stomachs Where poisonous plants
are present in any great numbers in
herbage it seems quite impossible TO
prevent cattle from eating them. The
poison veld' OF parts of the Transvaal
has a particularly bad reputation
caused BY plants-one of which is
said to be species of tulip, which
comes into leaf in the spring.
In addition to the poisons mention
ed above the deaths or illness Of En-
glish cattle have been traced to eating
the leaves OF laurel, common crow
foot. and various other plants of the
ranuncclus family. wild parsnips
and acorns, which are very astringent,
and also. it is believed, TO their eat
ing woody nightshade. The keeping
of goat with cattle may be bene-
fetal, because goats eat BY choice and
with impunity plants which are in
furious to COWS.
Birds seem to have no discrimina-
ton whatever in regard to poisons,
probably because they have almost no
sense OF smell and swallow their food
without masticating it. They are ter
rihed to paralysis by the appearance
of poisonous snake (lnless the ter
TOR be due to dread of the appearance
of the serpent rather than to an in
herited knowledge OF its venomous
power,) but such intelligent birds as
rocks will pick up and eat poisoned
grain, and crows and ravens readily
eat poisoned eggs and meat Chick