[[Mr Hadden] has four acres of amber cane growing on his farm, and amongst the crop a large number of poison plants are to be seen. He has ascertained by inquiry that the plants are poisonous, Baron Von Mueller, to whom one of them was submitted about a year ago, having intimated that it would prove fatal to cattle or horses if eaten in any quantity; but not if merely a few leaves were eaten along with other herbage. The habits of the plant have been watched since that time by Mr Halden, who has learned that it grows to a height of about 3in. in cultivated soil, and spreads along the ground attaining the circumference of a dinner plate. Being such a size, an animal can easily pick up a mouthful of it, which is sufficient, according to Baron Von Mueller, to cause death.1]
M answered another question about a poisonous plant found at Ulpna West (M to the Weekly times, August 1885 (in this edition as 85-08-00a), and identified it as Euphorbia Drummondi; it is a prostrate species, as is the plant described here.
Letter not found. The text given here is reprinted from Numurkah standard in 'Strange fatality among cattle', Albury banner and Wodonga express, 13 March 1891, p. 11. The Numurkah standard had reported fatalities among cattle and invited readers to give other examples, and subsequently reported that 'Mr. Halden, of Ulupna West, has called at this office and given particulars as follow:'.
Halden has not been further identified. On the assumption that this report was reprinted soon after it appeared in the Numurkah standard, M's letter is dated to March 1890 based on 'about a year ago' recalled by Halden.
Please cite as “FVM-90-03-00c,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on