3 o8 COMMON WEEDS 



more in length, and the large purple, spotted, pendulous 

 flowers, which open between July and September, 

 occur in dense racemes. All parts of the plant are 

 poisonous, but especially the seeds ; the leaves are less 

 active after the flowering period. A well-known drug, 

 namely, the glucoside Digiialin, is prepared from the 

 Foxglove. The toxic principle is not destroyed by 

 drying the plant. As animals are not known to touch 

 this plant in the open, it is chiefly of human interest. 

 It should never be employed as a medicinal herb 

 except under expert advice, and it should never be 

 included in grass made into hay or silage. 



POLYGONACE.E 



Sheep's Sorrel (Rumex Acelosella L.), dealt with at 

 pp. 119, 204, has also been said to possess poisonous 

 properties due to acid oxalates (binoxalate of potash, 

 sold as salts of lemon), and Cornevin states that 

 veterinary surgeons charge it with poisoning both 

 horses and sheep. 



THYMELACE^: 



The Spurge Laurel (Daphne Laureola L.) is an ever- 

 green shrub, found in copses and banks in stiff soil 

 from York and Durham southwards. It bears black 

 berry-like fruits, which are very acrid and poisonous, 

 and children have been injured by eating them. On 

 account of its intense bitter flavour the plant is very 

 rarely touched by animals. Another shrubby species 

 with pink flowers, which appear in early spring before the 

 leaves, is Mezereon (D. Mezereum L.). It is found in 

 copses and woods, and is similarly poisonous. 



