21 



PINK FAMILY (ALSINACEAE). 



CORN COCKLE. 



Agrostemma giihago L. 



Other names : Cockle; rose campion; bastard nigelle; old maid's 

 pink (N. H.); mullein pink (Nova Scotia); licheta (Vt.); crown of the 

 field. (Fig. 7.) 



Description and habitat. — A whitish, woolly annual, 1 to 3 feet high, 

 with an erect stem, showy, violet-red flowers, and numerous rough, 

 black, irregularly-rounded seeds. 



The corn cockle is a noxious weed in Europe, and in the United 

 States it is now generally introduced in grain fields from Maine to 

 North Dakota, southward through 

 eastern Kansas to Louisiana and 

 Florida; sparingly in Wyoming 

 and California, and scarcely at all 

 in the dry region extending east- 

 ward from California to Texas and 

 eastern Kansas. 



Poisonous constituent. — The poi- 

 sonous constituent, saponin, is a 

 noncrystalline powder, very freely 

 soluble in water, and possessing a 

 sharp, burning taste. It has no 

 odor, but when inhaled in the 

 smallest quantity it produces vio- 

 lent sneezing. When briskly 

 shaken with water it froths like 

 soap. The poison is found in 

 nearly all parts of the plant, but 

 mainly in the kernel of the seed. 



Causes of poisoning. — Cases of 

 poisoning have been noted among 

 all sorts of poultry and household 

 animals, but are rarely due to any 

 portion of the plant as found grow- 

 ing in the field. The poisoning is 

 generally produced by a poor grade 

 of flour made from wheat contain- 

 in g cockle seeds. Machinery is used 

 to remove these seeds from the 



wheat, but the difficulty of separating them is so great that the result is 

 not entirely accomplished. The quantity remaining determines the grade 

 of the flour in this particular regard. It sometimes amounts to 30 or 

 40 per cent, but this quality is sent out only by ignorant or unscrupu- 

 lous dealers or is intended for consumption by animals only. Flour 



Fig. 7.— Corn cockle (Agrostemma giihago) : a, 

 sprays showing flowers and seed capsule, one- 

 third natural size ; b, seed, natural size ; b', seed, 

 four times natural size. 



