t)88 The Value of Lupins on Poor Light Land, [jan.. 



Many flockmasters in Suffolk find lupins very useful for fold- 

 ing purposes. Sheep do well on them, especially when the 

 seed is beginning to form in the pods, but before it gets hard . 

 If the lupins are sown in June, the pods remain on until Decem- 

 ber, and are good feed for sheep, even when the plant is nearly 

 black. The animals, however, take some time to get accus- 

 tomed to the bitter flavour, and one should always begin 

 gradually the feeding of lupins. Sheep also require a run on 

 rough grass or on the heath daily, returning to the fold at 

 night. 



Possible Poisonous Properties of Lupins.— Considerable care 

 must be taken in folding lupins, to prevent the animals from 

 ^eating too large a quantity at once, or a heavy mortality may 

 occur. Kellner* states that fodder from lupins always has a 

 heating effect, and in some years all parts of the plant contain 

 a deadly poison. This poison, he states, is a protein-like sub- 

 stance, probably due to the action of some fungus, which, 

 favoured by the weather, migrates to the plant. He recom- 

 mends feeding the lupins to a rabbit or similar animal in order 

 to judge whether the material is safe. Steaming for four or 

 five hours under a pressure of 60-80 lb. per square inch is, he 

 states, necessary to destroy the poisonous properties. 



The writer has been unable to trace any instance, in Suffolk, 

 of serious poisoning from feeding green lupins. Most flock- 

 masters using them fold with confidence, provided certain 

 precautions are taken. Kellner appears to over-emphasise 

 the danger of poisoning.. At the same time there can be no 

 doubt that some danger exists and that great care is necessary. 

 If, however, lupins are mixed wdth other plants, such as tares 

 and oats, the danger is small. 



Whilst chemists have shown the presence of poisonous 

 alkaloids in lupins, the losses to stock in Northern Germany in 

 consequence of feeding lupins have been considered by certain 

 investigators (Kuhn, Roloff, Arnold and Lemke, Arnold and 

 Schneidemuhl, Damman), as due, not to the alkaloids, but to 

 a hypothetical substance, known as ictrogen. 



An investigation by Dr. Sellmanj showed the presence of 

 alkaloids in American lupins, and pointed to the probability 

 that most, if not ah, of the poisoning of live stock in America 

 by lupins, was due to these alkaloids, and not to ictrogen. These 



* Kellner, O., The Scientific Feeding of Animals, p. 165. Trs. W. Goodwin. 



t Lupins as Poisonous Plants, Marsh, C. D., Clawson, A. B., and Marsh, 

 Hadleigh, U.S. Dept. of Agric, Bull. No. 405, Washington, 5th December, 

 1916. 



