44 
Injurious Fodder and Poisonous Plants. 
pinnatifid. Flowers : small, pale scarlet, black at the base. 
June and July. Poppy heads, club shaped, with erect bristles. 
Place of growth: in cornfields, rather rare. Annual. 
Qualities ; The poppies contain a narcotic juice, which 
produces serious effects on animals that have eaten them, the 
poison paralyses the animal, produces vomiting and diarrhoea, 
and in a few days the animals succumb. One of the 
characteristic symptoms is contraction of the iris, making 
the pupil exti-emely small. If poppies are present in the hay 
to any considerable extent, they have in many cases rendered 
the animals insensible that ate it. 
IV. A .’ — Chelidonium majus L. (Celandine). Stem: 
1 ft. to 2 ft. high, smaller, but similar to the true poppies : 
single segments rounded. Flowers: small, yellow. May to 
August. Place of growth: waste places, old walls, &c. 
Perennial. 
Qualities : The plant abounds in an orange-coloured 
juice, which is a violent acrid poison. In small quantities it 
acts as a purgative, it is, however, known to produce abortion, 
and in the case of lambs some died a few days after eating it. 
Celastracese. Prevailing qualities : uncertain. 
IV. B. — Euonymns europceus L. (Spindle Tree), a shrub, 5 ft. 
to 8 ft. high, with green bark. Leaves : broadly lanceolate, 
finely serrated edges, glossy. Flowers : small gx'eenish. 
May and June. Fruit conspicuous, a four-valved capsule, 
rose coloured. Place of gr ow t h : hedges and woods. 
Perennial. 
Qualities : This shrub is common in Devonshire. The 
berries cause violent vomiting. Sheep especially suffer, and 
ca^es have come under observation which terminated in the 
death of the animals. Horses rarely touch the shrub, but cows 
seem strangely fond of its young shoots. When the berries 
ripen cows do not touch the shrub ; cases of cows actually 
poisoned are not recorded, but caution should be exercised. 
Caryophyllaceae. Prevailing qualities : irritant. 
IV. c. — Agrostemma Githago L. (Corn Cockle). S t e m : 2 ft. 
to 3 ft. high, forked. Leaves: narrow, lanceolate, growing 
together at their base, greyish green. Flowers: on long 
stalks, purple. June to August. Place of growth: 
common in coim fields. Annual. 
Qualities : The seeds are the most poisonous part of this 
plant, they contain a poison called saponin, which is prevalent 
in more or less quantity in nearly all the plants of this order. 
I have, however, been unable to discover indisputable cases of 
* The figures and letters in front of the names refer to the plate and 
illustration. 
