VARIOUS FARM PRODUCTS 569 



nual, 1 to 3 feet high, with an erect stem, showy, violet-red flowers, 

 and numerous rough, black, irregularly rounded seeds. The poison- 

 ous constituent is very freely soluble in water, and possesses a sharp, 

 burning taste. It has no odor, but when inhaled in the smallest 

 quantity it produces violent sneezing. When briskly shaken with 

 water it froths like soap. The poison is found in nearly all parts 

 of the plant, but mainly in the kernel of the seed. 



Cases of poisoning have been noted among all sorts of poultry 

 and household animals, but are rarely due to any portion of the plant 

 as found growing in the field. The poisoning is generally produced 

 by a poor grade of flour made from wheat containing cockle seeds. 

 Machinery is used to remove these seeds from the wheat, but the diffi- 

 culty of separating them is so great that the result is not entirely 

 accomplished. The general symptoms of acute poisoning are the 

 following: Intense irritation of the whole digestive tract, vomiting, 

 headache, nausea, vertigo, diarrhea, hot skin, sharp pains in the 

 spine, difficult locomotion, and depressed breathing. Stupor some- 

 times sets in, and it may be followed by death. Chronic poisoning 

 has not been closely studied in man, but experiments upon animals 

 show chronic diarrhea and gradual depression, the animal losing 

 vigor in breathing and in muscular movements until death ensues. 

 Corn-cockle meal is easily detected in second and third class flour by 

 the presence of the black, roughened scales of the seed coat. 



Dwarf Larkspur (Delphinium . income) . Stagger-weed (Ohio) . 

 The genus Delphinium, formed by the larkspurs, is composed of 

 erect herbs, with palmately lobed leaves, and an elongated cluster of 

 showy flowers. These are commonly blue, and are further character- 

 ized by the absence of green parts, and the presence of a peculiar 

 spur-like appendage. There are over 25 species native to the United 

 States. Few have a very wide distribution, but some of the Western 

 species are extremely abundant in their natural place of growth. 

 They have a general reputation of being poisonous to cattle. 



The dwarf larkspur is a smooth, simple-stemmed perennial, 6 to 

 12 inches high, with a tuberous root, deeply 5-parted leaves, and a 

 long, loose cluster of blue (sometimes white) flowers, which appear 

 in April and May. It grows in clayey soil and open woods, from 

 Pennsylvania and the mountains of North Carolina to southern 

 Minnesota. It is especially reported from Ohio as fatal to cattle in 

 April, when the fresh leaves appear. 



Wyoming Larkspur (Delphinium geyen). Poison weed. A 

 somewhat hairy perennial, 10 to 20 inches high, with a large spher- 

 oidal tuft of rather thick, dull-green leaves, and a central column of 

 deep azure-blue flowers. A common high prairie plant of Wyoming 

 and northern Colorado. It is reported to be the most troublesome of 

 the poisonous plants of Wyoming. Ranchmen suffer considerable 

 loss from it, especially in early spring, when the dark green tufts of 

 foliage are conspicuous features of the otherwise dry and barren 

 landscape. 



Purple Larkspur (Delphinium menziesii) . A somewhat hairy, 

 tuberous-rooted perennial, about a foot high, with a basal cluster of 



