POISON ON FRUIT?

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1673, 13 February 1913, Page 4

POISON ON FRUIT?

NOT THE SLIGHTEST DANGER.

In yesterday's Dominion thcro appeared a paragraph giving Hie opinion of-a Wuugauui medical man that tho recent poisonings wero duo, in some cases io urseunto of lead used in the. spray. With rcferenco to this, a reporter 'culledon Mr. T. W. Kirk, Kircclur of Orchardv wlio nuppiied tlio lollowing iiitoniialkim "The /message irom Uanganui," said' Mr. Kirk, "is likely to be misleading, as (lie doctor is reported to advise the peeling of iruit in all cases, so as "to avoid the' danger of taking such a strong poison into the system. It is .worthy of noto that stone fruits, also raspberries, straw-, berries, etc., are not sprayed with luid acetate, so those Can be excluded from the doctor's category,

Mr. kirk then mentioaed a .report on (his particular spray ■by Dr.- Sl'l'.auriii, Government Analyst, which appeared ia the annual report of the Agricultural Department lor 1910. The report reads:—; "Some discussion on the subject of whether arsohale-of-lead spray is dangeiotis to persons consuming apples and pears.appeared in the New Zealand press last Mason. In order, thereWrc, ; .to' set tho tfuistion at rest,- and obtain authoritative pronouncement, it was arranged (hat tho officer's of tho Public Health Depnrlincut 'should visit tho Government orchard at Weraroa and (I),gather.some fruit from frees regularly sprayed during'tho season;. (2) to see a tree sprayed, and theirtsolvc3 gather tho fruit directly . the" .Jsji'rny, w,is dry.. ■ • ' ':■■■■. ; ' ,•,.'"" .This having been done,, the mvc-stiga-tions by Dr. M'Laurin showed that thcro was absolutely no 1 danger to health from eating apples so sprayed. In order'to estimate, the amount of arsCriic on Hio apples they were (rented'with appropnato solvents, and tho solution > so: obtairied analysed. ■.■■,- • These results showed that the, apples sprayed with arsenate of lead in'' the usual," commercial way during the season contain such minuto traces of lead and arsenic that they may be eaten with perfect safety. In fact, the amount of arsenic is so'small that one, would requireto consume two bushels'of ; apples (60%.), skins and nil, to get,merely a medical doso of arsenic. . Even in the case, 'if ("apples sprayed immediately before picking, two, or .three pounds could, bo eaten, without producing,serious results,". '~, ,