FOOD 193 



become tympanitic, but there are no symptoms character- 

 istic of the poison. 



On post-mortem examination twigs and leaves of the 

 yew are found in the stomach, and it is said that a swollen 

 and yellow condition of the liver are indicative in cattle of 

 yew poisoning. 



A shrub in India, the Arbor vit». Biota orientalis, is also 

 very deadly ; it is sometimes given to horses with their food 

 to improve 'condition.' The berries of the Bead Tree, 

 Melia azedarach, known in the Transvaal as the Tame 

 Syringa, have been identified by Davy as the cause of 

 cattle poisoning. 



The Beech nut, Fagiis sylvatica, is used on the Continent 

 of Europe as a cake for feeding cattle, to which it can be 

 given largely with good results, but so poisonous is it to 

 horses, that Wolff says a pound or two of the cake suffices 

 to kill any horse eating it. 



The grass known in India as Spear-grass, to the Boers as 

 Stik-gras, and in America as Porcupine or Needle-grass, is 

 blamed for causing disease of the rumen owing to the 

 sharp awns. These are said to even pass through the 

 wall of the stomach in sheep, but we are not aware of any 

 literature on the subject. 



There can be no doubt that spear-grass irritates the 

 mouth of horses, the sharp barbs penetrate the mucous 

 membrane, and there appears to be no reason why this 

 should not also occur in the rumen. 



A very poisonous leguminous grain imported from India, 

 has within comparatively recent years been brought 

 prominently to the notice of veterinary surgeons and horse 

 owners in England, owing to its highly poisonous pro- 

 perties. Lathyrus sativiis, commonly known as mutters, 

 contains a poison which produces spasm of the glottis in 

 working horses. The poison is evidently a cumulative one, 

 as it requires a few weeks of Lathyrus feeding to produce 

 the symptoms. 



In the stable the animals look in perfect health, but 

 when put to work the most remarkable dyspnoea occurs 



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