CHAPTER VIII 



THE EFFECTS OF PLANTS ON MILK. 



A number of poisonous plants have a considerable influence on the 

 milk yield of animals which eat them, reducing it in volume or in fat 

 content, or imparting to it an unpleasant flavour which renders it unfit 

 for human consumption, and even affecting the butter made from it. 

 Other plants not actually poisonous also affect milk by "tainting" it, 

 and must therefore be considered harmful otherwise than as mere weeds. 

 Still others affect milk by causing it to be stained with blood, and in 

 some cases the toxic principle of the plant concerned is even stated 

 to have rendered the milk poisonous. It will be useful to give here 

 a brief account of milk-affecting plants, though it is probable that 

 there may be others which are not mentioned. 



The plants best known in this connection are the Garlics {Allium 

 oleraceum h., A. ursinum h., A. vineale L., and others), which impart 

 to milk a strong "oniony" flavour. These plants also seriously affect 

 the flesh of animals which eat them, even rendering it unfit for con- 

 sumption. A case came before the author several years ago in which 

 a considerable number of sheep had eaten a quantity of Allium ursinum, 

 which was growing in a field in which they had been grazing for some 

 days. The meat was so strongly tainted that, as the owner (a butcher) 

 stated, it was quite unfit for sale. The only thing to be done was to 

 pasture the sheep elsewhere for a time. 



Pott notes that species of Ranunculus give rise to reddish or bitter 

 milk {Mollcereizeitung, 1897), while Caltha palustris causes loss of milk 

 production in cows. 



Ranunculus repens imparts a strong unpleasant flavour to the milk 

 of cows that have eaten it, and the butter made from such milk is dis- 

 tinctly bitter in taste (Giissow). 



Ranunculus sceleratus causes a falling-off in milk-yield. (Cornevin.) 



Alliaria officinalis Andrz, imparts an oniony flavour to milk. 



7—2 



