Ala Obfervations on the Economical U/e 



ipccics of Ra7iuncull, with which trials were made, exc«pt 

 the R. auricomus, were reje6led by the horned cattle; and it 

 is well known, that while our meadows and paftures are 

 eaten bare of other vegetables, the 7?. acrls and R. bulhojusy 

 •which are but too plentiful, are left untouched : neither do 

 cattle willingly eat the R. rcpcns, although it is not wholly 

 rejefted by horfes, (heep, and goats. 



The R. Flammula, according to the above experiments, 

 was eaten only by horfes, to which animal it is there faid to 

 be very grateful ; whereas the R. aurico?nus, eaten by all the 

 reft, (except that fwine choofe only the roots,) was rejetSled 

 by horfes. The R. Jceleralus, which is fuppofed to be the 

 Herba Sardojiia of Diofcorides, was touched by goats alone ; 

 the R. biilbofus only by the latter, though it is well known 

 in England that hogs are fond of the roots. The R. acris 

 was eaten by flieep and goats ; but the R. aquatlUs is re- 

 corded as the only one rejefted by all the five fpecies of ani- 

 mals on which thefe trials were made. It does not appear 

 by either edition of the Pan Suecus, that any trials were 

 made with R. arvenjis ; and though horned cattle and horfes 

 will eat this fpecies greedily, (although not without fubfe- 

 quent injury,) yet it is known to have been highly delete- 

 rious to Iheep. A notable inftance of this occurred in Pied- 

 mont in the year 1786, where a number of thefe animals 

 died, as it was at firft fuppofed, of an epidemical difeafe; but 

 fubfequent examination difcovered that this defiruAion was 

 owing to the Ranmiculus arvenjis. The hiftory of this acci- 

 dent is circumftantially related in the Memoirs of the Royal 

 Academy of Turin, by M. Brugnon *, The herb grows lux- 

 uriantly in Piedmont, and the llieep fed with much eagernefs 

 upon it. The eft'ecls here mentioned were not immediate, 

 but progreflive; and M. Brugnon, on further inveftigation, 

 was convinced they were principally owing to the roots of 

 the plant; iiuce, by experiments purpofely made on dogs, 

 thefe animals were almoll inftanlly killed by tliem. On' 

 the dilTection of the fheep, all the four conco6tive organs 

 w^ere found affetSled with eryfipelatous and gangrenous fpots ; 



* Memoires de I' Academic Koyale des Scieaces, Annees 17S8 — 1789, 

 a Turin. 410. 1 ;yO. 



but 



