42 



Corn Cockle. 



[APRIL, 



food the growth of the animals was diminished, though the 

 action did not appear to be poisonous. They even concluded 

 that corn cockle is a harmless food for growing pigs, and 

 refuse containing the seeds is said to be widely used in 

 Hungary for fattening pigs. 



About the same time Nevinny stated * that 6 grams of 

 cockle seed consumed in 1,200 grams of bread were beyond 

 doubt poisonous in effect, and that the sale of grain or flour 

 containing it should be forbidden. Kobert, another investi- 

 gator, was also of opinion that the sale of feeding stuffs 

 containing the seeds of corn cockle should be prohibited by 

 law.f 



In 1893 a number of pigs died in Germany when fed on 

 coarsely ground rye tailings containing 6 per cent, of cockle, 

 symptoms of acute poisoning being observed. On the other 

 hand, 40 work-horses were uninjured when given 3 J lb. of 

 similar tailings. J In another case five cows were supposed 

 to have been poisoned by corn-cockle seed;§ and in a further 

 instance the cockle was believed to exert a poisonous action 

 on pigs (1904-5). || In 1903-4 experiments showed that corn 

 cockle exerted a more favourable than unfavourable in- 

 fluence on the total milk yield of cows, but a very unfavour- 

 able influence on the quality of butter ; and experiments with 

 cows, sheep, pigs, and goats indicated that in the amounts 

 commonly found in feeding stuffs corn cockle has no 

 poisonous action on domestic animals. IT 



Hagemann showed** in 1903 that the use of food-stuffs 

 containing corn cockle as usually obtained from milling did 

 not cause poisoning of domestic animals. Pigs received 

 foods containing 60 per cent, of cockle, and cows were given 

 5J lb. of cockle per 1,300 lb. live weight per day. Cows 

 receiving foods rich in cockle yielded milk containing an 

 inferior fat of abnormal character. 



An extensive study of the question was made by Pusch, 

 who concluded as follows: ft "Under certain conditions 



* Exp. Sta. Re, vol. iv, p. 310. f Ibid., vol. iv, p. 92. 



% Ibid., vol. v, p. Si 3. § Ibid., vol. xii, p. 394. 



|| Ibid., vol. xvi, p. 103. H Ibid., vol. xv, p. 1001. 



* * Landw. Jahrbiicher, vol. 32, 1903, p. 929. 

 + + Exp. Sta. Rec, vol. iv, p. 90. 



