20 FACT NUMBER ONE. 



much in the same way ; may not man, therefore, an animal, 

 not quite so delicate, in this respect, as Master Grunt, substi- 

 tute this grass for that weed and gain something by the ex- 

 change ? The enquiry is made merely to elicit experiment. 



Sheep are observed to eat the Slobber Grass freely, though 

 it is believed to be injurious to their milk and to the growth 

 of their young. It has been found by careful comparison, 

 that lambs, where this grass prevails to the exclusion of 

 more healthy and nutritious feed, do not attain the weight 

 of lambs in regions where the grass is not known, by some- 

 thing more than thirty per cent. A course of experiments, 

 however, is now in progress which will probably determine 

 with more accuracy the effects of this grass upon sheep and 

 several other animals. 



No attempt is here made to exhibit the precise qualities 

 or properties of the Slobber Grass, for the simple reason that 

 no fair test of its component parts has yet been obtained. 

 The plant has not been honestly submitted to a chemical 

 analysis ; the first and great object has been to say to the 

 world the cause of the Slobbers has been discovered and a 

 remedy found. 



Preparations however are now in progress and are nearly 

 completed, for ascertaining its qualities and developing its 

 whole character by a scientific examination. 



But without any character, and even without a name, it 

 has long been a prevailing plant in this, and probably in 

 many other countries, and has never been regarded as any 

 thing more than a harmless wild grass — a coarse pasture 

 feed. Mixed with other grasses, it has long been cut and 



