Poisoning of Cattle. 4:26 



ways by insect* which feed on the honey-dew. and by the movement 

 of animals feeding in the infected pasture and by wind causing contact 

 of infected with healthy heads. In cattle grazing on paspalum 

 infected with ergot at this stage of its development, it will be not«d 

 that hairs in the lips, cheeks, upper parts of the legs, and along the 

 abdomen are stuck together with this " honey-dew " exudation. From 

 this mass of fungus threads the ripe sclerotm are formed. 



The symptoms produced in cattle by feeding on ergotized grass 

 vary according to the species of the infecting ergots. C. purpurea 

 sets up a very definite train of symptoms, commencing with diarrhoea, 

 lameness, and stiffness in the limbs, affecting particularly the lower 

 joints, associated with coldness and insensibility of the parts affected. 

 This is followed by sloughing of the part and separation of the dead 

 tissue usually in the neighbourhood of a joint. Portions of a limb 

 may be sloughed off, for example, a toe, or in some cases the slough 

 may involve the fetlock joint resulting in separation occurring at 

 this point. The ears and tail are frequently affected, partial or almost 

 complete loss resulting. 



Lesions may also be noted affecting the mucous membranes. 

 ^Necrotic patches may appear on the buccal mucous membrane and 

 h^T^eraemia affecting the intestinal mucous membranes is of frequent 

 occurrence. Abortion very frequently occurs in animals which are 

 pregnant. There is little systematic disturbance except in complicated 

 cases, and temperature is not elevated. 



The American investigators. Brown and Rauck. carried out a 

 series of animal tests in 1914-15 to determine whether C. paspali was 

 capable of producing toxic symptoms in animals. Positive results 

 were obtained by feeding guinea-pigs on the ripe sclerotia. 40-80 

 selerotia, when fed daijy, produced symptoms of marked sensibility, 

 and after a few days in-co-ordination of movement occurred, resulting 

 in death after a period of complete paralysis. Commercial ergot 

 extract {C. purpurea) was found to produce no distinct ill effects. The 

 administration of j-l c.c. on four successive days produced only 

 temporary sluggishness. 



The ripe sclerotia given to calves, ad. Hh., produced hyper- 

 sensitiveness after two days, and, later, in-co-ordination of movement 

 followed by frequent paroxysms, and, later, prostration and death. 



In order to ascertain whether C . paspali, which is known to infect 

 a high percentage of paspalum lands in this country, would reproduce 

 the symptoms in experimental animals which were observed in 

 America « in animals feeding on infected pastures, a series of experi- 

 ments were arranged at the Veterinary Research Laboratory. Six 

 animals were selected for the tests, and the ergot-infected paspalum 

 was collected from old paspalum lands at the Government Experi- 

 mental Station at Cedara. The method of collection was by stripping 

 the infected heads by hand, the material resulting being a mixture 

 of portions of the seed heads and a fairly high percentage of ripe 

 sclerotia. This material was fed within a few days after collection 

 in a mixture of bran and a small quantity of chopped lucerne. 



From the experiments it was noted that feeding with 9 lb. -12 lb. 

 quantities of infected heads produces a definite and diagnostic train 

 of symptoms. The initial symptoms appeared in each case on the 

 second day after the infected heads were fed to the animals and were 

 characterized by muscular tremors, hypersensitiveness, increased 



