98 



GROUND FEEDS. 



stance, and established the fact that this poison is plenti- 

 ful in the seed. A water extract of twenty-one grams 

 of the seed, made a three-pound rabbit very ill, but it 

 finally recovered. The residue from the water extraction 

 was treated with 50% alcohol, and the solution from 1.5 

 grams of the seed, when injected into a thirty-two-ounce 

 rabbit, caused death. 



Symptoms and treatment follow the same lines as in 

 the case of Purple Cockle. The use of the permanganate 

 solution as described (p. 52) is recommended if the pre- 

 sence of seeds in the stomach at the time of treatment is 

 suspected. 



I* 



Fig. 21. Seeds of Cow Cockle Saponaria Vaccai-ia. 



natural size. 



Five times 



The plant is an annual, introduced in grain from south- 

 ern Europe, and thrives among the spring wheat of the 

 west, where it is spreading rapidly. Its stem, 

 simple or branching, is one to two and one- 

 half feet tall, smooth, succulent and greyish 

 green. The broadly lance-shaped leaves have no petioles, 

 their base clasping the stem. The flowers are in flat- 

 topped racemes, pale pink, and one-half inch across. 



The Plant 

 and Seeds 



