2 BULLETIN 365, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Pliny speaks of the use of the powdered seeds to destroy parasitic 
insects on the head and other parts of the body, and this has been its 
principal use up to the present time, although it has been recom- 
mended as a remedy for various ills. As an insecticide the seeds of 
Delphinium staphysagria or " stavesacre " have been much used, but 
other species have served the same purpose. The leaves, stems, and 
roots have had little medicinal use, and very little has been published 
in regard to their poisonous properties besides the investigations on 
American species. Pliny states that the flowers when ground up 
serve as a remedy for snake bite. Dioscorides- says that the herb 
paralyzes scorpions when put upon them. Watt, 1890, page 65, says 
that the root is applied to kill maggots in the wounds of goats. 
Froggatt, 1900, page 181, recommends larkspur as an insect barrier 
in gardens. He says that locusts readily eat the leaves and flowers 
and are killed by them. 
Outside of America very little has been published in regard to the 
poisonous effect of larkspur on the higher animals. Delafond, 1813, 
page 173, makes the statement that Delphinium consolida L. is poi- 
sonous to sheep. His evidence does not seem to be extensive, and 
apparently is based upon the fact that he found sheep dead and, on 
examination, discovered that they had been eating Delphinium con- 
solida. Gerlach, 1845, page 125, says that Delphinium consolida has 
been considered poisonous, but incorrectly, and states that he has fed 
sheep for several days with the plant and that they ate it readily 
but received no harm. Dammann, 1886, page 840, quotes Delafond, 
saying that sheep eat Delphinium, consolida freely and that when 
they eat much are poisoned, and states the results of Gerlach. He 
also quotes Beier, 1845, who tells of horses poisoned by an extract 
of seeds of Delphinium staphysagria in beer. Watt, 1890, page 64, 
says that the dew from the leaves of Delphinium hrunonianum Royl 
falling on grass is said to poison cattle and horses. He also says, 
1890, page 69, that the leaves of Delphinium vestitum are poisonous 
to goats. Macgregor, 1908, page 502, gives details of the poisoning 
of a horse by Delphinium. 
From this brief review of the subject it appears that there is little 
definite evidence that domestic animals in Europe and Asia have 
been poisoned by larkspurs. Most of the statements are of a general 
character, no specific instances being given, and they are not based 
upon personal experiences of the authors. Statements to the effect 
that animals are poisoned by dew falling from the plants, as in the 
case of Delphinium hrunonianum, must be dismissed as purely imagi- 
native. It would seem, therefore, that in Europe and Asia not only 
is there no loss of domestic animals by larkspur, but also that there 
are hardly any reliable records of individual cases of poisoning. 
