210 Feeds and Feeding. 



known as ergot. Occasionally hay or straw bearing the fungus se- 

 verely injures cattle which are continuously fed thereon during win- 

 ter. Ergot acts on the nervous system, depressing heart action and 

 thereby restricting the blood circulation. In advanced cases the ears, 

 tail, and lower parts of the limbs of affected animals lose warmth and 

 sensibility, dry gangrene sets in, and the diseased parts finally slough 

 away. Animals showing symptoms of this trouble should have their 

 feed changed to remove the cause, and also be warmly housed and 

 liberally supplied with nourishing food. 



322. Corn smut. — At the Wisconsin University^ the author fed 2 

 milch cows on well-cleaned corn smut mixed with wheat bran, start- 

 ing with a few ounces and increasing until 32 ounces of smut was 

 supplied daily to each cow. At this point one refused her feed, but 

 the allowance of the other was increased until 64 ounces, or 1 peck, 

 was fed daily. This cow seemed to thrive on the smut and was grow- 

 ing fat, when she suddenly sickened and died. Smith of the Mich- 

 igan Station^ fed 4 cows on well-cleaned corn smut until each was 

 eating from 1 to 10 lbs. daily. Only one cow showed any indisposi- 

 tion, and she recovered. In experiments by the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry,^ United States Department of Agriculture, corn smut was 

 fed to heifers without harmful effect. It is reasonable to conclude 

 that corn smut is generally harmless to cattle, tho animals becoming 

 fond of it and eating inordinately may suft'er harm. 



323. Castor bean. — The castor bean and the pomace remaining 

 after the oil has been extracted contain a deadly poison. Castor beans 

 or pomace accidentally getting into feeding stuffs sometimes cause 

 mysterious deaths. Carnivan* reports that exposing castor oil cake 

 to the air for 5 or 6 days or cooking the seeds or cake for 2 hours de- 

 stroys the poison. 



324. Saltpeter. — ]\Iayo of the Kansas Station^ reports losses of 

 cattle from eating corn forage carrying quantities of saltpeter in 

 and on the stalks. The dangerous forage had been grown on land 

 previously used as feed lots where the soil was excessively rich. 



325. Miscellaneous poisonous plants. — The common horsetail, water 

 hemlock, poison hemlock, death camas, several species of larkspur, 

 cockle bur, and many other plants are more or less poisonous to farm 

 animals. 



> Ept. of Regents, 1881. * Ann. Soc. Agr., Lyon, 1887. 



^ Bui. 137. * Bui. 49. 



' Bui. 10. 



