418 



SPU 



ST A 



beyond their husks, and mostly 

 crooked. They are dark colour- 

 ed, have a rough surface, and ap- 

 pear furrowed deeply from end to 

 end. They are bitter to the taste ; 

 will swim in water at tirst, and then 

 sink to the bottom. But they are 

 easily distinguishable by their ex- 

 traordinary bulk and length. 



Various have bet n the conjectures 

 concerning the cause of this dis- 

 temper. Some think it is occa- 

 sioned bv the bite of an insect : 

 Others ascribe it to fogs, dews, 

 rain, &c. But as I have never 

 found any such distempered grains, 

 but in rye of a rank growth, ! ra- 

 ther incline to ascribe it to too 

 great a pressure and flow of sap 

 into the kernels, while they are in 

 their most tender state, by which 

 they are too much distended, and 

 rendered incapable of throwing otT 

 the grosser particles of sap; by 

 which means they become fungous 

 and misshapen. 



IVl, Salerne, and others, have 

 given sad accounts of the diseases 

 with which numbers of people have 

 been afflicted, in some years, when 

 they have eaten fieel) of bread, in 

 which there was much of the spur- 

 red rye. 



The peasants of Sologne, it is 

 said, sift out these grains, when 

 corn is plenty ; But in a time of 

 scarcity, being loth to lose so much 

 grain, they neglect it. And then 

 they are wont to be attacked with 

 a dry gangrene, which mortifies 

 the extreme parts of the body, so 

 that they fall off, almoet without 

 any pain. 



"The Hotel Dieu, at Orleans, 

 has had many of these miserable 



objects, who had not any thing more 

 remaining, than the bare trunk of 

 the body, and yet lived in that 

 condition several days. 



" As it is not every year that 

 the spur in rye produces these 

 dreadful accidents, Langius is of 

 opinion, that there may be two 

 kinds of this distemper ; one which 

 is not hurtful to human constitu- 

 tions, and the other which occa- 

 sions the gangrene, it is however 

 probable, that there is but one kind 

 of spur, and that it does not sensi- 

 bly hurt ; first, when suflicient care 

 is taken in sifting the grain ; and 

 secondly, when only a small part 

 of the corn is distempered. It is 

 also said, that the spur loses its bad 

 quality after the grain has been 

 kept a certain time : In which case, 

 the reason why some peasants are 

 attacked with the gangrene in years 

 of dearth, may be, that they con- 

 sume their crop as soon as their 

 harvest is over." — DnhamePs Cul- 

 hire des Terres. 



STABLE, a house, or lodgment 

 for house. 



A stable should have an open 

 airy situation, and be as free as 

 possible from mud and wetness. 

 The floor should be built of pine 

 planks, not on a level, but descend- 

 ing backwards, that the stale may 

 not remain under the horses, so 

 that they may lie dry and clean. 



As a horse is a cleanly animal, 

 hen roosts, hog sties, and necessary 

 houses, should not be too near to 

 his apartment. A stable should 

 have windows to open and shut, 

 that fresh air may be let in when 

 the weather is hot : And it should be 

 tight and warm in winter. Other- 



