DICOTYLEDONS 35 



Buttercup {Ranunculuses^}). — The deleterious 

 principle is common to nearly all kinds of Ranun- 

 culus, and varies very much in strength; the most 

 acrid are R. bulbosus, R. acris, R. sceleratus^ R. 

 Flammula, R. auriconius, R. arvenszs, and a foreign 

 species, R. thora. 



The Water-crowfoot and its numerous varieties 

 or species, according to different botanists, appear 

 to be the least harmful, as cattle eat it with 

 impunity ; in the neighbourhood of Kingswood, 

 on the borders of the Avon, cottagers used to 

 support their cattle almost entirely on this species 

 of Crowfoot. It is said that one man kept four 

 cows and one horse so much upon it that they 

 had not consumed more than half a ton of hay 

 throughout the whole year. They collected a 

 quantity every morning and brought it in a boat 

 to the edge of the water, where the cows ate it 

 with great avidity. 



It is no doubt due to being submerged that the 

 deleterious pjoperty is not produced in this species. 



Celery-leaved Ranunculus [R. scderatus, 

 Fig. 9). — This is an annual plant common in 

 ditches ; varying in height from a few inches to 

 several feet.^ 



* For description of the Buttercup {R. acris) see the Intro- 

 duction. 



^ I collected a tiny variety, about two inches in height, on 

 ground occasionally flooded, close to the Great Pyramid. 



