THE POLyPP:TAL.E 



55 



stance, whicli varies in extent ami degi-ee according' to 

 the species and to the place where the plants are grow- 

 ing. In the Water Crowfoot tlie amount is so smcill as 

 to he negligible, and the feeding properties Avliich it 

 otherwise possesses for cattle can be brouglit into play, 

 for cows feed on it with avidity. The common butter- 

 cups, namely the Field Butter- 

 cup and the Bulbous Butter- 

 cup, have veiy acrid proper- 

 ties, the young fruits when 

 grreen beincf the most danirerr 



Taken internally the 

 juice from the fruits lias all 

 the j^ropo-tios of a true acrid 

 poison,and serious results lia\ e 

 been known to ensue after eat- 

 ing the fruit of these Butter- 

 cups. The reason whj- horses 

 and cattle liave not been poi- 

 soned wliolosale is due to the 

 fact that they do not touch 

 the Buttercups when in full 

 leaf or floAver, but only when 

 dried in the form of hay; by 

 this time tlie toxic substance 

 has escaped, and the Butter- 

 cup has become a nutritious 

 food. 



Fig. 25.— Lesser Fipearwort 

 (Rammctilits Fla/fi Hilda) 



The anemonin stated above to be present m 

 Anemone is also present in the Field and Bulbous Butter- 

 cups. A slice of the underground stem (corm) of the 

 Bulbous Buttercup has been employed medicinally to 

 cure tootliache. The petals are dangerous when eaten 

 ^u any quantity, but their acrid taste is fortunately a 

 f^uffieient deterrent so far as children are concerned. 

 In SPK.\RwoRT {f\<y. 25), which grows in wet places, the 



