316 COMMON WEEDS 



have been recorded. Poisoning may occur in spring 

 owing to the leaves and seed-vessels being eaten in 

 the open, or when dried in hay, or to the cropping of 

 the blooms in late summer and autumn. " As the plant 

 is most injurious to animals and man, it should be de- 

 stroyed in fields, for cattle will sometimes crop the 

 leaves in the spring." l Cornevin found by experiment 

 that the ingestion of 8 to 10 grams of green leaves 

 per kilogram of live weight, say 3 to 5 Ib. for an 

 average cow, was sufficient to cause death to ruminants. 

 It would appear also that if a small quantity be eaten 

 each day with other food, the effects may accumulate 

 and lead to fatal results. Further, the poisonous prin- 

 ciple, Colchicine, is not volatile, and not removed by 

 drying the plants, hence hay containing the dried 

 leaves may cause trouble. " It is an irritant poison, 

 causing violent purging. This plant was the probable 

 cause of the cows dropping their calves, the farmer 

 having lost between eighty and ninety calves." 2 



It has been stated by Stebler and Schroeter 3 that 

 Meadow Saffron abounds in meadows in Switzerland, 

 and is poisonous both in hay and in the field. Cases 

 of poisoning of animals and human beings are of 

 yearly occurrence. In general, cattle avoid the plant 

 both in the meadows and in the stalls, but young animals 

 are often poisoned, and in early spring, when cattle 

 stall-fed in winter are turned out to grass, poisoning 

 frequently occurs. Sheep and goats appear to be more 

 or less immune and eat the leaves, but pigs are very 

 sensitive. 



Since this plant is so poisonous it should be eradi- 

 cated wherever found. As the corms are deep-seated 

 they can only be dug out by hand on small areas, but 



1 English Botany, vol. ix. p. 225. 2 Jour. R.A.S.E., 1905. 



3 Matten und IVeiden der Schweiz, vol. ix. p. 209. 



