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Poisoning of Cattle by “Java” Beans
Poisoning- of Cattle ' by "'.lava" B eans.
391
, Our veterinarians should al so be able to give the farmers points on breeding for improvement of fa rm stocIe W e need now 75,000 wellbred tows to ta.ke the place of the same number of o ur herds that pay no profit. The science of breeding should be better und erstood by stockbreeders, and educated veterinarians are in a position to hel p it on among the farmers . . Thus a stronger bone! of good feeling would prevail between the ve terinarian and the farmer. The farmers have a pecuniary interes t in a n e ffi cient veterinary science, holding as they do 600 ,000 head of sto ck, excIusi ve of poultry, with a valLie of twenty and a half million of dollars. It is to their interest, in all cases of se rious disease amongst their an imals, to immediately call for the ser vices of th eir veterinari a n. Delay frequently means the loss of valuable stock. For t his service they a re, or should be , w illing to pay a fa ir compensa tion, and as promptly, at least, as th ey pay t heir family physician. The consumers of mea t and milk also have a deep interest in the question of a hea lthful food supply and, as our intelligent veterinarians are associated with the producers of th ese prod ucts in preventing or curing diseases th a t may a ffect their . healt hfulness , th ey, th e cons um~rs, have an indirect interest in maintainin g a high grade veterinary service. . . , O wing ' to the -necessity of preservin g th e health of our domestic animals;' because of their mOlley value and especially lest, through disease they become a mellace to hUll/an health, an efficient veterinary service is req uired : and all that can be done to raise the standard of efficiency in the profession should be encouraged.
POISONING OF CATTLE BY "JAVA" BEANS,
IN connection with the cases of poisoning by "Java" beans which were abstracted from the] ourllal of the Board of Agriculture, and reported in the previous issue of this Journal, Professor McCall, of Glasgow Veterinary College, carried out some experiments with samples of the bean m,eal used in one case. The material was given to a collie dog, a Shorthorn cow, and a black and white cob, ,with the result that they a ll died, the dog within two hours and the cow and horse within one hour of the first appearance of the symptoms. A noticeable feature in the experiments was the period of time which elapsed, namely, fifteen or twenty minutes, between the ingestion of the Java meal and the appearance of toxic symptoms. The explanation is that the poison does not exist in the form of free hydrocyanic acid in the beans; but the elements are there, and on the addition of moisture and heat (both of which are furnished by the stomach) a chemical combination occurs ' resulting in the slow and gradual production and liberation of the deadly poison. \iVhen these conditions are produced artificially outside the body the formation of the poison goes on gradually for several days.
39 2
The Veterz"nary Jounza!.
It is frequently stated that when the Java meal is boiled the volatile poison is driven off and that the meal can then be used with impunity. In the experiment with the cob, however, the meal was boi"led in water for one hour, and the result showed that boiling cannot be regarded as a safeguard. A quantitative analysis of the Java meal revealed the fact that in each pound of meal there were nine maximum doses of prussic acid for an adult. In a paper on the poisonous properties of these beans submitted to the French Academy of Science by M. Guignard, it is mentioned that in March, 1905, a consignment of "Feves de Kratok" arrived at Rotterdam which was composed of one or more varieties of Phascollls llmatus, and that four persons were poisoned by these beans. In November and December last, beans of the same description, sold as " Java" beans, were the cause of numerous losses among horses, cattle, and pigs in Hanover. More recently still some dozen cases oi poisoning have been reported from Belgium among animals fed on the beans or on the bean meal, which in the majority of instances had been cooked. Beans of this character have also been offered for sale in France-at Paris, Lyons, and Marseilles.
ADULTERATION OF FEEDING STUFFS. Two prosecutions have recently been undertaken by the Herefordshire County Council under the provisions of the Fertili sers and Feeding .Stuffs Act, 1893. In once instance a substance described on the invoice and on the label as "best pea-meal" was analysed and found to be largely adulterated with fine sharps or with a similar finely ground offal from wheat. There was a deficiency in albuminous compounds, which are an important element in pea-meal, and it was considered that not more than one-half the sample was pure pea-meal. A fine Of-{I5, including costs, was imposed. Th~ second instance dealt with the sale of a substance invoiced as " white maize meal," which on analysis proved to consist of only twothirds genuine maize, the remainder being rir.e hmks which were worthless for feeding purposes. It WilS deficient in albuminoids, and contained a great excess of indigestible woody fibre. A featllre of the defence in this case was that the description on the invoice was a clerical error, and that the meal was not ~old as ., maize meal" but as a patent American meal. The" sale nOle" was produced in support, with the result that t he case as regards the invoice was dismissed, but a fine of £ 10, including costs, WilS ill1po5ed for selling t he meal wil hout disclosing the fact that it contained an ingredient worthless for feed ing purposes. (Jollrllal of the Board of Agriculture).
A HUMANE ENACTMENT. A LAUDABT. E decision has been arrived at hy the prefecture of the Ottoman capital wilh the view of protecting horses from misuse and ilI-
391
, Our veterinarians should al so be able to give the farmers points on breeding for improvement of fa rm stocIe W e need now 75,000 wellbred tows to ta.ke the place of the same number of o ur herds that pay no profit. The science of breeding should be better und erstood by stockbreeders, and educated veterinarians are in a position to hel p it on among the farmers . . Thus a stronger bone! of good feeling would prevail between the ve terinarian and the farmer. The farmers have a pecuniary interes t in a n e ffi cient veterinary science, holding as they do 600 ,000 head of sto ck, excIusi ve of poultry, with a valLie of twenty and a half million of dollars. It is to their interest, in all cases of se rious disease amongst their an imals, to immediately call for the ser vices of th eir veterinari a n. Delay frequently means the loss of valuable stock. For t his service they a re, or should be , w illing to pay a fa ir compensa tion, and as promptly, at least, as th ey pay t heir family physician. The consumers of mea t and milk also have a deep interest in the question of a hea lthful food supply and, as our intelligent veterinarians are associated with the producers of th ese prod ucts in preventing or curing diseases th a t may a ffect their . healt hfulness , th ey, th e cons um~rs, have an indirect interest in maintainin g a high grade veterinary service. . . , O wing ' to the -necessity of preservin g th e health of our domestic animals;' because of their mOlley value and especially lest, through disease they become a mellace to hUll/an health, an efficient veterinary service is req uired : and all that can be done to raise the standard of efficiency in the profession should be encouraged.
POISONING OF CATTLE BY "JAVA" BEANS,
IN connection with the cases of poisoning by "Java" beans which were abstracted from the] ourllal of the Board of Agriculture, and reported in the previous issue of this Journal, Professor McCall, of Glasgow Veterinary College, carried out some experiments with samples of the bean m,eal used in one case. The material was given to a collie dog, a Shorthorn cow, and a black and white cob, ,with the result that they a ll died, the dog within two hours and the cow and horse within one hour of the first appearance of the symptoms. A noticeable feature in the experiments was the period of time which elapsed, namely, fifteen or twenty minutes, between the ingestion of the Java meal and the appearance of toxic symptoms. The explanation is that the poison does not exist in the form of free hydrocyanic acid in the beans; but the elements are there, and on the addition of moisture and heat (both of which are furnished by the stomach) a chemical combination occurs ' resulting in the slow and gradual production and liberation of the deadly poison. \iVhen these conditions are produced artificially outside the body the formation of the poison goes on gradually for several days.
39 2
The Veterz"nary Jounza!.
It is frequently stated that when the Java meal is boiled the volatile poison is driven off and that the meal can then be used with impunity. In the experiment with the cob, however, the meal was boi"led in water for one hour, and the result showed that boiling cannot be regarded as a safeguard. A quantitative analysis of the Java meal revealed the fact that in each pound of meal there were nine maximum doses of prussic acid for an adult. In a paper on the poisonous properties of these beans submitted to the French Academy of Science by M. Guignard, it is mentioned that in March, 1905, a consignment of "Feves de Kratok" arrived at Rotterdam which was composed of one or more varieties of Phascollls llmatus, and that four persons were poisoned by these beans. In November and December last, beans of the same description, sold as " Java" beans, were the cause of numerous losses among horses, cattle, and pigs in Hanover. More recently still some dozen cases oi poisoning have been reported from Belgium among animals fed on the beans or on the bean meal, which in the majority of instances had been cooked. Beans of this character have also been offered for sale in France-at Paris, Lyons, and Marseilles.
ADULTERATION OF FEEDING STUFFS. Two prosecutions have recently been undertaken by the Herefordshire County Council under the provisions of the Fertili sers and Feeding .Stuffs Act, 1893. In once instance a substance described on the invoice and on the label as "best pea-meal" was analysed and found to be largely adulterated with fine sharps or with a similar finely ground offal from wheat. There was a deficiency in albuminous compounds, which are an important element in pea-meal, and it was considered that not more than one-half the sample was pure pea-meal. A fine Of-{I5, including costs, was imposed. Th~ second instance dealt with the sale of a substance invoiced as " white maize meal," which on analysis proved to consist of only twothirds genuine maize, the remainder being rir.e hmks which were worthless for feeding purposes. It WilS deficient in albuminoids, and contained a great excess of indigestible woody fibre. A featllre of the defence in this case was that the description on the invoice was a clerical error, and that the meal was not ~old as ., maize meal" but as a patent American meal. The" sale nOle" was produced in support, with the result that t he case as regards the invoice was dismissed, but a fine of £ 10, including costs, WilS ill1po5ed for selling t he meal wil hout disclosing the fact that it contained an ingredient worthless for feed ing purposes. (Jollrllal of the Board of Agriculture).
A HUMANE ENACTMENT. A LAUDABT. E decision has been arrived at hy the prefecture of the Ottoman capital wilh the view of protecting horses from misuse and ilI-