POISONING OF CATTLE BY FEEDING ON P ASP ALUM 

 DILATATUM INFECTED WITH CLAVICEPS PAS- 

 PALI. 



By D. T. Mitchell, M.R.C.V.S., 

 Senior Veterinary Research Officer, Maritzhurg, Natal. 



Read July lo, 1919. 



The cultivation of Paspahim on an extensive scale as cattle 

 feed in the Natal Province is of comparatively recent date, and 

 although during the first few years the results justified the 

 labour involved, in recent years it has been noted that in cattle 

 which were allowed access to the Paspahim lands at a certain 

 season, svmptoms of inco-ordination of movement appeared in 

 a large percentage of the animals, which symptoms disappeared 

 slowly on changing the grazing ground to natural veld. 



Serious outbreaks were reported from various parts of the 

 province, and of these four were investigated. 



Two of these occurred in Umvoti Country, one involving 

 a large dairy herd, and the other a number of young stock, 

 heifers and oxen. A third outbreak was reported from the 

 Town Hill near Maritzhurg, and clinical symptoms were found 

 to be present in about 50 per cent, of the cows of a dairy herd. 

 A number of young oxen and heifers at the Government Experi- 

 mental Farm, Cedara, were inspected at an enquiry held there, 

 and were found to be affected, showing characteristic symptoms, 

 identical with those noted in previous outbreaks. 



In all these cases symptoms had appeared in the cattle 

 grazing on Paspalum pastures which were in the seeding stage, 

 and in each case it was noted that a very large percentage of 

 the heads of the grasses were infected with a fungus of the 

 ergot type. Specimens were collected and submitted to Dr. Pole 

 Evans, Plant Pathologist, who reported that the fungus present 

 was Claviccps paspaU, which had been noted in other parts of 

 the world to produce a similar train of symptoms to those shown 

 by the cattle in the affected herds under observation. 



Of the species of ergot which are known to possess definite 

 poisonous principles producing pathological or functional altera- 

 tions in man and animals, the best known is Claviceps purpurea, 

 the ergot which infects grain and rye grasses. The distribution 

 of this fungus is very widespread, and its toxic properties have 

 been recognized since the earliest times. Dissemination of the 

 spores has been noted to be brought about by a species of beetle 

 of the family Carabidcc, which collects the spores irom the 

 germinating sclerotia on the ground, and, on climbing up the tall 



