CHAPTER VIII 



POISONOUS PLANTS 1 



IN addition to the weeds of arable and pasture land 

 already described, there are a considerable number 

 which are chiefly important on account of their poison- 

 ous or irritant properties, and their consequent harmful 

 effects on farm live stock. In cases where such weeds 

 occur in large quantities they may be unavoidably 

 harvested with hay or other crops, and thus be later 

 given to stock ; or they may be eaten in the green 

 state in the open fields and along hedgerows. There 

 are also certain poisonous plants which, though not 

 weeds, may usefully be included here, on account of 

 the fact that they are occasionally eaten by farm 

 animals, on which they have an irritant or toxic effect. 

 Laburnum, Yew, and other noxious plants may be 

 browsed upon by stock in fields near large gardens ; 

 others, such as Box, Rhododendron, Poison Ivy, Helle- 

 bore, and Larkspur, may be obtained in clippings and 

 other rubbish from gardens and shrubberies. 



RANUNCULACE^: 



Monkshood (Aconitum Napellus L.) is not commonly 

 found otherwise than in gardens, but occurs in the 

 wild state in shady places near streams in Wales 



1 The symptoms of poisoning by the various plants and the antidotes or 

 remedial measures are not in general given. For information on these points 

 reference must be made to medical or veterinary works, and to the works by 

 Cornevin, Henslow, and Smith. (See Bibliography.) 



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