u 
Injurious Fodder and Poisonous Plants. 
day following the hind limbs became stiff and moist with cold 
sweat. During the following two days the legs were badly 
swollen and symptoms of the dreaded gangrenous disease made 
their appearance. The death of the animal 
took place on the fourth day. The first 
signs of ergot poisoning are fatigue to such 
extent that the animals cannot be used for 
work. Then cold sweats make their appear- 
ance and paralysis of the tongue and the 
muscles used in swallowing sets in ; later 
the whole body is similarly affected. In 
some cases death resulted* within ten hours 
and in others on the fourth or fifth day. 
From the varied doses of ergot given by 
the physician it is evident that some or- 
the poison than others. From 15 to 60 
grains can be given to a man, though even 
the smaller dose has caused serious poison- 
ous symptoms. The ergot “ grain,” which 
is the hibernating stage of the fungus, 
Claviceps purpurea Tub, is almost exclu- 
sively found on grasses. All pasture grasses 
and also those growing on roadsides are 
grains are formed generally after the time 
of flowering is over and it is thus desirable 
to mow the grasses early, when they are 
in flower. 
The presence of the ergot fungus is 
much more easily traced in the hay than 
any other. The grains protrude from the 
glumes of the grasses (see Fig. 1.), being 
of much larger size than an ordinary seed 
and of bluish black colour. If a quantity 
of hay is suspected to contain ergot, it can 
be detected by the simple means of shaking 
several lots of it well over some paper spread 
on the ground when some of the ergot 
grains will certainly drop out and be 
noticed. 
The smut fungi {Ustilaginece) of our 
cereals and grasses, especially the fungus 
liable to an attack of the fungus. The 
ganisms can stand much laiger doses of 
fig. 1.— Eye, Secale cereaie known as bunt {Tilletia Caries Tul.) have 
proved extremely dangerous to animals of 
the farm. After feeding on hay which contains the spores of 
these fungi (often in enormous masses, so that they form clouds 
