FOOD 



185 



W\ 



has recently* drawn attention to several which are harmful, 

 but there is yet much more to learn about them. Farmers 

 and natives of equal experience are not fully agreed as to 

 which are the poisonous varieties, and this is due mainly to 

 the fact that there are often several species of the same 

 plant, some of which may be harmless while others are 

 noxious ; for instance, there are no less 

 than forty-five species of ' Tulp,' and the 

 number of these which is poisonous is un- 

 known. 



Meliga Dendroides, the ' Dronk-gras ' of 

 the Dutch, possesses well marked poisonous 

 properties, causing giddiness and intoxica- 

 tion, the symptoms resembling Darnel 

 poisoning. Davy states it is probably a 

 species of Equisetimn or Horse tail, a well- 

 known poisonous grass in America and the 

 Continent of Europe. Magne refers to the 

 genus as being very poisonous and producing 

 haematuria. Boucher says the Equisetum 

 palustre (Fig. 48) is poisonous under certain 

 unknown conditions, and that it produces 

 symptoms resembling alcoholic intoxication. 

 It is this property which has caused the 

 Boers to give it the name of ' Dronk-gras,' 

 and it is conceivable the European and 

 South African plants are very closely allied. 



Darnel, Lolium temulentum (Fig. 49), 

 known in Europe and America for its 

 poisonous properties, has now been intro- 

 duced into South Africa with seed-grain. In 

 appearance it is very like Eye grass, but 

 the glumes or scales which enclose each spikelet of flowers 

 are as long as or longer than the whole spikelet ; for years 

 the seeds have been known to be poisonous, but the risk run 

 must be small, for Magne quotes experiments by Grogner, 

 * Qp. cit. I am greatly indebted to Mr. J. B. Davy, Government 

 Botanist to the Transvaal, for information on this and allied subjects. 



Fig. iS.— Equi- 

 setum palustre. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



