PINK FAMILY. 97 
The action of saponin is counteracted by extract of 
digitalis. Oils and demulcent drinks are also 
recommended. 
The plant is common in the winter wheat fields of 
Europe and North America, and in the spring wheat of 
a few districts. It is about the height of the 
wheat plants. Its stems and narrow, pointed 
leaves are greyish green, owing toa scatttered 
covering of fine, silky hairs. The rich, purple flowers, one 
to two inches across, with the five green, pointed sepals 
standing out beyond the petals, warrant the name Agros- 
temma, or “crown of the field.” 
The seeds are enclosed in a flask-shaped, one-celled 
capsule with a central column to which they are attached. 
When ripe the capsule opens at the top and the seeds 
break loose from their fastenings. They are jet black 
when ripe, from one-twelfth to one-eighth of an inch in 
diameter, and somewhat flattened. They are character- 
ized by rows of teeth which curve round from a notch at 
the point of attachment. Fragments of the hulls ara 
readily identified in ground feeds by these teeth. 
Antidotes 
The Plant 
and Seed 
Cow CocKLE—Saponaria Vaccaria L. 
Other Common Names: Cow Herb, China Cockle, 
Spring Cockle. 
This plant is a close relative of Purple Cockle and was 
suspected of producing similar effects. Its growing pre- 
: 7 valence in western grain fields led Ches- 
ail nut and Wilcox to investigate the truth of 
Purple Cockle these suspicions. Their experiments with 
rabbits corroborated the earlier statement 
that the plant contains a‘poisonous, saponin-like sub- 
