492 SPORADIC DISEASES. 



Mr. Green writes as follows : — 



" Dudley Veteeinakt Infirmary, 

 " January 9, 1896. 

 " To Professor Williams. 



"Dear Sir — In reply to yours, I may say, in the Dudley case of 

 poisoning of horses "R'ith the Lathyrus sativus, the cab proprietor 

 bought twenty-five bags as split peas, and commenced using them at 

 once, giving the full feed, and I have no hesitation in saying they 

 had from eight to nine pounds a day for seven days Avith bran and 

 chaff. On the ninth day the horses began to stop in their work, stale 

 frequently, show slight abdominal pains, fall on their knees when 

 standing in the stable or on the cab-stand, and about the twelfth day 

 the roaring appeared. The corn was suspected, and discontinued on 

 the tenth day. Nothing relieved them but tracheotomy. None of 

 the horses have thoroughly recovered, and in my opinion they never 

 will. — Yours faithfully, A. Green." 



LUPINOSIS. 



A disease said to be due to the ingestion of plants belonging 

 to the genus Lupinus of the Natural Order Lcguminosce. 



The name lupin is said to be derived from lupus, a wolf, 

 because the plants " devour all the fertility of the soil," but 

 tlie derivation is doubtful. None of the lupins, numerous 

 though the species are, and very common in our gardens, are 

 natives of Britain, their chief home being the countries in the 

 neighbourhood of the Mediterranean Sea and the temperate 

 regions of North and South America. The members of the genus 

 are shrubs or sub-shrubs, and can be recognised by their digitate 

 leaves. One of the best known is the species with white flowers 

 — Lvjnnus albus — grown in Southern Europe, either for fodder 

 or as a manure for the purpose of ploughing the crop in. The 

 Greeks and Eomans, in spite of the bitter taste of the seeds, 

 acquired a liking for them, and used them as an article of diet. 

 Cattle, too, are known to have been fed on them after the bitter 

 taste had been removed by steeping and boiling. The yellow 

 lupin (Lupinus luteus) has sometimes been recommended as a 

 forage plant in places where a poor, light, and sandy soil would 

 grow nothing else. In spite of its bitterness, which made it un- 

 palatable to stock generally, sheep are said not to refuse it, and 

 to thrive on it. One authority remarks that cases of poisoning 



