250 THE SWEDISH PAR 



Long-leaved water hemlock will kill a cow^ 

 whereas the goat browfes upon it greedily. 

 Monks-hood kills a goat, but will not hurt a 

 borfe •, and the bitter almond kills a ^ip^, but is 

 wholefome food for man, Parjley is [deadly "to 

 Jmall birds ; while y^z«^ eat it fafely ; znd pepper 

 is mortal to fwine, and wholefome to poultry. 

 Thus every creature has its allotted portion. 

 Animals diftinguifh the noxious from the falu- 

 tary by fmell and tafte. Younger animals have 

 thefe fenfes more acute, and therefore are more 

 nice in diftinguifhing plants. An empty fto- 

 mach will often drive animals to feed upon 

 plants, that were not intended for them by 

 nature. But whenever this has happened they 

 become more cautious for the future, and' 

 acquire a certain kind of experience ; e. g. the 

 monks-hood^ which grows near Fahluna, is gene- 

 rally left untouched by all the animals, that are 

 accuftomed to thefe places ^ but if forreign cattle 

 are brought thither and meet with this ve- 

 getable, they venture to take too large a quantity 

 of it, and are killed ^ The cattle that have 



** The fame thing has been told me by the countrey peopk 

 in Herefordfhire in relation to meado^j-faffrojty which grows in 

 plenty in fome parts of that county. Gmelin, Flor. Sibirica, 

 p. 76. fays that cattle eat the leaves of the hellebore^ 40. when 

 they firft fpring out of the ground, and are thereby killed. 



been 



