18 HAY AND FODDER. 



FUNGI AND BACTERIA. 

 ERGOT Claviceps purpurea (Fr.) Tul. 



The drug Ergot is believed to have been used by the 

 ancient Jews before the dispersal of their nation. It was 

 certainly used in medicine long before the details of its 

 growth were discovered. While it has for years been 

 known to be a fungous disease, there are still people who 

 are ignorant of the fact and believe that the "ergots"* that 

 grow on their grains or grasses are merely degenerate 

 kernels. Its history as a poison is also very old. Epi- 

 demics of ergotism were recorded in the time of Julius 

 Caesar, and since then the plague has recurred again and 

 again, usually following rainy seasons. In America it 

 has caused great losses. It is most dangerous in hay, but 

 gives trouble also in ground feeds. 



Repeated small doses such as an animal may obtain 

 by eating infected hay or grain have a cumulative effect, 

 causing chronic ergotism. This disease is due 

 Chronic ^ Q ^ Q action of the drug on the nervous sys- 

 tem, and may become evident in either of two 

 forms, depending on whether the sympathetic or central 

 nervous system of the animal proves more susceptible. 



In the gangrenous type, which is the more common, the 

 sympathetic nerves are affected. The arterioles, which 

 connect the arteries and capillaries of the body, are con- 

 trolled by sympathetic nerves. Ergot, by stimulating 

 these, causes a contraction of the arteriole walls and 

 produces two secondary effects. Since the blood can with 

 difficulty be forced through into the capillaries there is 

 much increased blood pressure in the heart and arteries, 

 and more important than this, the tissues, especially 



*The word ergot is from the old French argot a cock's spur. 



