THE DEADLY TUTU

Hokitika Guardian, 26 March 1921, Page 4

THE DEADLY TUTU

(J3y J. Drummond, F.L.S., F.Z.S.) (Lyttelton Times). A correspondent at Wairoa, Hawke’s 3ay, writes that .lie was astonished to natch two tuis sitting on a tutu bush aid eating the ripe berries. They were there, on and off, for about ten minutes. A few hours later he saw the same birds, he presumes, on the bush, amongst the berries again. He cannot understand how birds eat, evidently i • il,„i .1 i.r» Prjf.nl

with impunity, berries that are ratal to human being. Experiments seem to show that the explanation is not, as many people believe, that birds are immune from tutu poison, but that they must eat a large quantity of the berries before the effect is lata!,- Tne tni belongs to the family of the honeyeaters, the Mcliphagidac. hike all other true members of the family, it has a t the end of its tongue a very delicate and fine brush, with which it sucks nectar from the flowers. It is not exclusively n honey-eater, and lives largely on insects and berries. Judge Mailing, author of “Old " ea land,” kept a tame tui alive for months on nothing but tutu berries, but this apparently was an cxcep.ional ease. It has been shown by experiment that an

ordinary pigeon must cat at least t\( ounces‘of fresh tutu berries before it i s poisoned by them. Imports that domestic fowls have l>een killed by eating tutu berries are discredited, be- ■ cause an average-sized fowl, according to actual experiments, would nave to oat lib of the berries before death resulted. A fowl was deprived of food for two days, and then was offered ■> plateful, oojs, of the berries. After eat ing between loz and 1-Joz it took no more, although it had had no other food for a long time. It showed no symptoms of poisoning. Dr F. Fitchett, of Dunedin, who conducted extensive experiments in tli s direction, states that when an ordinary pjecon is given a massive dose of tutu buries it is seized almost imniediatciv without any premonitory symptoms, with general convulsions. Ihe wing* are rigidly extended to their f ull length, and are flapped violently. Tim head is retracted until it lies firmly 1 against the breast, and the bird throws itself backward. It turns over and ; over, and flops about until it is ex- . • hausted. These violent movements con- ■ tinue for only a few minutes. A final somersault sends the bird oil to its hack, and it lies with its head drawn j i hack beneath its body, while it llaps it* ■ wings and eliws at space with its ‘Vet j In the later stages, the head is brought 1 forward, the eyes are kept closed, and the movements, which are continued without inlerniission from the outset , become feebler and feebler, and finally | . at death, stop almost imperceptibly. , Wlicn doses flint were fairly heavy, hut j . nm fatal, were given, pigeons showed no symptoms beyond drowsiness uid treinulousness, and perhaps vomiting and convulsive movements of the wings Of three common New Zealand lizards, belonging to a species often four’ 1 in the grass, which were dosed with the poison, one died after two hours, an- ' other after four hours and three-quar-ters, and the third, which received only a slight dose, showed no symptoms, and was quite normal on the following ■ day. Relatively high doses had to he given to. frogs experimented with in order to kill them. When young trout were ola.ed in water that contained a solution of tutu poison they became excited, hut alter a time became quieter, and the gdl movements. became exaggerated, l.ui t t!:e v lost power ol maintaining their equilibrium and lay mi one side gasping. From that position they often sprang up and swam round the vessel in which they were imprisoned, still on one side, and then resumed their position at the bottom, where they died. Three New Zealand minnows were placed in water charged with the poison. After from two to four Hours thov swam near the surface of the fluid and became excited in their movements. 1 swimming vigorously and even leaning 1 out of the water. Bubbles of gas omitted from tlfeir mouths, and tlvwr inability to sink seemed to show that there was some .derangement of the swim-bladder.’ hater, they were unable lo retain their normal position, ami swam with bended trunks and snuddei--1 ing movements, which suggested •'•n--------1 j minions. Death put an end to Jdieir ; troubles. Weak solutions of the poison had no effect on insects, but when the percentage of the poison was incieased ' ; svmptoms were soon noted, and the mi sects died in about half an hour. .The ; insects’ symptoms were similar to those iof pigeons. Some infusoria are affected I by the poison, but it has very lit Me | effect on amoebae, and it has a de--1 cidedly deleterious effect on some bacteria, but, not on all. 1 i The usual poison symptoms in human beings are vomiting, giddiness, deliriuni, great excitement, stupor, coma, : and convulsions. A young man who j took some tutu berries was seized with convulsions five hours afterwards. They continued for about forty minutes. He then gradually passed into a state of coma, which continued all the following day. When he recovered consciousness, he knew nothing of his illness, and denied that he had eaten . the berries, lie was drowsy for a few days, hut gradually recovered. In another case, after the acute symptoms had passed away, there was a perinan- | i'iit mental change. Absolute loss of memory until complete recovery has been reached sometimes is one of the ’ effects of the poison. A man took half a pint of the berries after his evening meal. He felt no effect until the following morning at six o’clock, when, on trying to rise, he suddenly lost consciousness. He regained consciousness for a few minutes about 11 a.in., but i immediately relapsed into stupor, i which continued for twenty-four hours. 1 When he came to himself, ho had lost his memory and for half a day he was unable to say where he was or what lie ‘had done during the previous forty- j eight hours. He had no pains during , his illness, and there were no had effects later. Many people died from tutu poisoning in the early days of colonisation, but in these days, when the deadly nature of the berries is well known, ! they cause few deaths. During thirty 1 years only four deaths from eating poi- ■ sonous berries were recorded in Now i

Zealand, and in only one case was It definitely known that the tutu berry was the cause. About twenty years ago twelve French sailors were poisoned by tutu, and four died. j The poison has taken a heavy toll front cattle, sheep, horses, and other domesticated animals. Captain Cook seems to have been the first victim as far as loss in this direction is concerned. Nearly 148 years ago, in Queen Charlotte Sound, he liberated a ram and a ewe in order to stock New Zealand with sheep. Two days later he was told that both had been found dead. It was believed that they had eaten

some poisonous plant, “and l>y this accident all the captain’s hopes of stocking New Zealand with a breed of sheep were instantly blighted.” Many early settlers shared Captain Cook’s disappointment. Between 1861 and 1862, n settler reported that he had lost 200 sheep by tutu; another lost sixteen bullocks; another twenty-four cattle; another 400 sheep out of a flock of 1000. fn some places, a settler felt that he was fortunate if he did not. lose more than .25 per cent of his stock bv Mitu poisoning. Some settlers appointed a hov to each bullock team in order to prevent the bullocks from feeding on t’u> deadly plant.

Sheep poisoned by the plant stand still trembling, and froth at tire nioiit. with their inws working and their teeth grinding. They then suddenly fad over, with their limbs rigid, ns it they were suffering from stryehnine poisoning. “If they are helped to thei legs,” the malinger of a sheep station states, “t v ey go mad. and will rush against a fence or over a precipice, and will pay no attention to men or dogs With animals that have eaten less of

tlic plnnt, the symptoms do not appear unless they are disturbed, an 1 tine the elicet is shown with terrible suddenness. A hark from a dog or a sudden run for a few yards will he almost certain to start the poison at work. In these cases, however, the sheep affected generally recover if hdt alone.” It is stated that the .wild delirium is more ntarked in cattle, w irh whec around and around, gallop about aim lessly, and charge and rush blindly against rocks and other obstacles. Thi wild career continues until the animal exhausted, falls to the ground, becomes comatose, and dies in convulsions This account agrees with an account ol the behaviour of one ol Captain ( ook i animals: “The ram was taken witl (its, bordering on madness. ( >nc nighl he was seized with one of these lits an ran headlong into the sea. but soor came out again, and seemed to be quit; easv. Presently, after he was soiree wit.ii another fit, lie ran along tin bench, and was never seen more.” N< antidote to tutu poisoning is known Amongst, the remedies used are lime water, carbonate ol ammonia, stimu