GRASSES OF IOWA.. 171 



the corn cob for fuel purposes in this state. Mr. Fowler states 

 that while corn cobs at 50 cents a load are ^ood for combusti- 

 ble pu-'poses, they are not so cheap as slack at §1.10 a ton. 

 Fifteen loads are equal to a ton of nard coal. Burning cobs 

 are extremely hard on the fire brick. It should be stated that 

 in addition to its value for fuel purposes, a fine quality of 

 potash may be obtained from the ash of burnt cobs. 



The Poisonous Effects of Grasses. 



Darnel. — It is a w ^11 know a fact that a number of grasses 

 are poisonous. It was well recognized by the ancients that 

 •darnel {Lolium temulentum) is poisonous, for it is written: "But 

 while men slept, his enemies came and sowed tares among the 

 wheat. ' '* 



Darnel, when ground up with wheat and made into flour, is 

 said to produce poisonous effects on the system , such as head- 

 ache and drowsiness. This poisonous property is sa'd to reside 

 in a narcotic principle, Loliim, and according to Hackel 

 "causes eruptions, trembling and confusion of sight in man 

 and flesh-eat ng animals, and very strongly in rabbits, but it 

 •does not effect swine, horned cattle or ducks. " Lindleyf states 

 that the g -ain is of evil report for intoxication in man, beast, 

 birds, and bringing oi fatal convul'sions. Haller speaks of 

 them as communica ing these properties to beer. It acts as a 

 narcotic acid poison. Darnel meal was formerly recom^nended 

 as a sedative poultice. In Taylor 'st work on poisons, the 

 statemeat is made that the seeds, whether taken in powder 

 or in decoctions, have a local action on the alimentary canal 

 and a remote action on the brain and nervous system. He 

 states furthe' that no instance is reported of its causing fatal 

 injuries to man, and as much as three ounces of a paste of the 

 seeds have been given to a dog without causing death. Then 

 he goes on to cite the experience of Dr. Kingsley, in which 

 several families, including about thirty persons, suffered 

 severely from the effects of bread containing the flour of dar- 

 nel seed. These persons had staggered about as though intox- 

 icated. It is claimed by some investigators that this plant is 

 not poisonous. One writer claims to have made bread with 



♦Matthew 13: 35-30 John Smith, Bible Plants, in commeuting on the above pas- 

 sage, states that it Is not the tares or a plant commonly called tares iVicia sativa), but 

 the above grass. 



tFlora Medica. London. 609. 



*0n poisons In relation to medical jurisprudence and medicine. 653. /. 65. 1875, 

 /(3d 3) Philadelphia. 



