Bisbee daily review., 1908-05-07
POISON EXPERIMENTS
BY PROF. WILSON
0ieander Leaves Prove Deadly
to Horses, Cattle and Sheep,
Bulletin Forthcoming,

Prof Wilson OF the Arizona Expe-
riment Station at Phoenix, has been
conducting a series of experiments to
establish the fact that oleander leaves
are deadly poison to stock. He has
already finished some of them and
has one or two more On which a
result has not yet been reached. DR..
F. o. Richmond, a well known veter-
marian of Phoenix, and one who has
been largely instrumental in giving
publicity to the theory of the dead
illness of the oleander poison, mas as.
sisted him by holding postmOrism ex,
aminations of the bodies of the dead
animals. When ali experiments have
been completed, says the Tucson Star,
Prof. Wilson proposes to write bull
letin upon the subject for issuance by
the territorial university. This bull
letin will include actual and definite
data on the quantity of poison admin.
istered, its effects, the death of an
finals, the nature Of the poisons and
numerous other things that have been
definitely established. Sufficient has
been learned, however, to demonstrate
the deadliness of tne poison.
The experiments began about two
weeks ago and all the animals used
were carefully examined and found
to be in good health when the expe
riments began. Roughly speaking
one green oleander leaf weighs about
one gramme and the gramme will be
referred to as the unit of measure
ment in this story.
One horse was given ten grammes
Of green leaves in a capsule. In &c
hours the horse was dead.
The next horse was given three
grammes per day for three or foul
days. His temperature and pulse be
gan to rise but after the fourth day
his condition began to improve. His
appetite was better and there were
evidences of his ability to overcome
the poison, though, he was still
emaciated. Six days after the las;
of the small doses had been given
ten grains was administered and in sc
hours the horse was dead. Some OF
the leaves given were green and
some of them dry.
A COW was given IL grammes OF
green leaves and died in So hours,
A sheep was given one green leaf
mot weigned), and died in 4S hours
DR.. Richmond made a post mortem
examination in each case. He says
the post-mortem appearances were
very similar in all cases. The most
marked appearance was in the stom-
ach of the horse and in the fourth
stomachs of the ruminants, though
in both ruminants there was some evil
dences of poison in the first stom.
ach and in the case of the COW, in
the third. stomach also. In every
case the brain of the animal was nor
NAL. The marked effects of the poi
son were along the alimentary tract
which was spotted and diseolored in
places.
The symptoms Of the poison be
tore death were very like those Of
many other animals he has treated
which he believed were suffering
from oleander poison The first eff
feet is rising temperature, followed
by a rapid pulse that sometimes in
creases to four or five times the nor
NAL beat Purging and emaciation
ensues followed by death, which is
| the result of an over-worked or over
stimulated heart. While the temper
ature of the animal is high and heart
action rapid it grows constantly
weaker and the extremities cold.
1t is believed that there are three
distinct poisons in the oleander, but
, thus far but very little is known con
corning them One of them is soluble
III either alcohol or water but IL has
aSt yet been determined whether 1t is
an acid or an alkaline poison and
there seems TO be no known antidote.
Still less is known of the other two
poisons; in fact. little more than the
fact that they are there.
The above experiments should pretty
enectGally quiet the contentious OF
some people that the oleander is not
dangerously poison to stock and those
owning stock will do better to see
that it is not fed the grass from lawns
where oleanders are growing or from
any other place where the leaves may
laccidently become mixed with the fod-
der. And 1t will perhaps be only a
wise precaution for parents who have
oleanders in theeir yards.