100 The effects of Plants on Milk [CH. 
Achillea Milkfolium L. is stated to impart its bitter taste and strong 
odour to dairy products when eaten by cows. It contains an alkaloid, 
Achilleine (C 2 oH 38 15 N 2 ) having a peculiar odour and bitter taste. 
Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum has also been suspected of imparting 
a bad flavour to butter. 
According to Pott the milk of cows eating Oxalis Acetosella is with 
difficulty converted into butter. 
The poisonous principle of Colchicum autumnale is stated to find its 
way into the milk of animals consuming it, and Muller states that the 
milk of goats which have eaten it has caused the poisoning of infants. 
Muller states that a cat died after drinking the milk of a cow suffering 
from poisoning by Narthecium ossifragum. 
Mercurialis annua is said to cause milk to be thin, "blue," and poor 
in fat ; while in a case already mentioned (p. 68) M. perennis entirely 
stopped the secretion of milk. 
According to Chesnut, goats may eat quantities of Euphorbia Lathyris, 
and it is said that their milk then possesses the poisonous properties of 
the plants. Ingestion of other Euphorbias appears to have the same 
effect. 
Cornevin remarks that Melampyrum arvense is considered to influence 
cows to produce more milk. 
According to some authorities species of Equisetum check milk 
production or cause it to cease, and E. palustre is stated by Weber to 
cause the milk of affected cows to become watery, poor in fat, and give 
rise to a greasy and unappetising butter, while the yield may soon quite 
fail. 
The ingestion of the foliage of the oak (Quercus sp.) is stated by 
Cornevin to induce Maladie des Bois, with reduction or entire loss of 
milk production (see p. 69). Acorns have also affected milk production, 
and a case is recorded (The Dairy, 1913) in which it is stated that cheese 
made from the milk of cows which had fed on acorns developed a 
sharp acid flavour when about four weeks old, though the texture was 
good. It is not clear, however, how it was proved to be due to the 
acorns. 
In one case recorded a reddish tinge was observed in the milk of a 
cow suffering from Rhododendron poisoning (p. 46), and in general 
reduced milk production appears to occur. 
In addition to the foregoing, there is good authority for saying that 
the following plants may impart a disagreeable flavour to milk, and in 
many cases the butter made from it : 
