38 Injurious Fodder and Poisonous Plants. 
clovers or weeds, especially thistles or the haulms of grasses 
and cereals that have been cut by machine. Certain seeds have 
similar properties ; they either pierce the gum or lips of the 
animals, as for instance several species of brome grasses (Bromus 
inermis L., B. sterilis L.) or matgrass (Nardus stricta L.), 
or they adhere to the palate or tongue, like wood anemone 
{Anemone nemorosa L.), carrot {Daucus Garota L.), bur mari- 
gold {Bidens tripartita L.), or even the seed pods of the 
spotted medick {Medicago maciilata L.), &c. Though the 
injury is very slight and of the nature of a mere splinter, the 
animals in trying to free themselves of this inconvenience 
have caused harm to themselves and other animals by violent 
nervous kicking. 
Poisonous Plants. 
In dealing with the noxious food that animals meet with 
when grazing it must at once be said that this mainly concerns 
poisonous plants. The flora of Great Britain possesses a 
number of deadly poisonous plants and others of less violent 
character. Some of the plants referred to grow only locally, 
others are found everywhere. To deal only with those plants 
which occur in pastures is not for various reasons an adequate 
treatment of the subject, for firstly, there are very few treatises 
available for the farmer which deal exhaustively with the 
vegetable poisons ; further, the number of such plants growing 
actually on pastures is very small ; and Anally, many cases of 
poisoning happen on roadsides and elsewhere. It is therefore 
important to give a more thorough account of the plants 
poisonous to animals which are met with in Britain, though 
one must admit that even in regard to the more poisonous 
ones there is still I’oom for improvement in our knowledge. 
Cases of poisoning by plants are by no means rare in this 
country or any other, as many an unfortunate farmer can 
conflrm from his own experience. In the following list I 
have included mainly plants which have a decidedly poisonous 
action together with some which cause less serious injury to 
animals. The arrangement which I have followed is accord- 
ing to their natural orders : — 
Ranunculaceae. Prevailing quality : acrid, caustic. 
I. A .' — Clematis Vitalha L. (Traveller’s Joy). Stem: 
woody, angular, climbing. Leaves : ovate, entire ; leaflets 
arranged on a common stalk, which acts as a tendril. 
Flowers: greenish white, loose bunches. June to August. 
Fruits : conspicuous in autumn and winter by its tufts of 
* The figures and letters in front of the names refer to the plate and 
illustration. 
