148 Yew- Trees of Great Bintain and Ireland 



animaux domestiques qui, pendant I'hiver surtout, 

 alors qu'ils sont soumis au regime du sec, broutent 

 ses rameaux et s'empoisonnent.' ^ 



The poisonous effects of the leaves on horses 

 were known to Theophrastus.^ 



The article in the Encyclopcedia Britannica says 

 that ' if cut and laid in heaps to undergo fermenta- 

 tion it is very injurious,' but it cannot be supposed 

 that the poisonous properties would be increased 

 by fermentation, and it seems more probable that 

 the sweetness thus caused renders it attractive to 

 cattle, and induces them to eat it in larger quantity 

 than they might otherwise do. Cattle only suffer 

 from eating it in too large quantity, either after 

 it has fermented, or when they have been kept from 

 green food for a lengthened time. 



Some people are of opinion that the partially 

 dried leaves are more poisonous than when green, 

 but there can be no good reason for this. Professor 

 Munro says:^ 'Also the half-dried leaves would 

 be, ceteris paribus, more potent than the fresh ' — 

 a statement which is not very clear in its meaning, 

 but if it implies that a given quantity is more 

 poisonous when half-dried than when fresh, it is 

 open to question, for it is difficult to see how the 

 desiccation can increase the amount of poison any 

 more than fermentation would. 



^ Des Plantes Vhieneuses. - Lib. iii. 



^ foiirn. Roy. Agric. Soc. 



