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 
to the 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 
Chronic 
Ergotism 
*The word ergot is from the old French argot—a cock’s spur. 
