62 Injurious Fodder and Poisonous Plants. 
poisonous to chickens and even cause death to the larger 
animals, when eaten in quantity. This may occur when 
the grass grows amongst cereal crops and the seeds are 
harvested with the grain. Thus, sometimes, horses are 
injured with signs of narcotic poisoning. The danger is 
very small from eating darnel seeds, and, in my opinion, 
absolutely non-existent in the case of the other species of 
Lolium. 
Farmers and stockbreeders have often referred to acorns as 
being poisonous to stock, but opinion on this point differs 
largely. Pigs and sheep eat acorns apparently without risk of 
injury, though a few cases of disease have been reported in 
these animals. Some observers- record serious losses among 
young cattle. In small quantities mere accidental disorders may 
be produced, but when eaten in excess the true acorn poisoning 
symptoms are said to appear. The animals reject food of any 
kind ; diarrhoea, fi*ee discharge of urine, discharge from the 
mouth, nostrils, and eyes have been observed, as if some irritant 
poison had been swallowed. 
Other non-British plants, generally cultivated as orna- 
mental shrubs or plants in gardens, have from time to time 
been responsible for the death of animals. So for instance 
Nicotiana Tahacwn L. (the wild Tobacco Plant) and the varieties 
cultivated in gardens are poisonous to horses and cattle alike. 
Azalea, rhododendron, bay tree {Laurus nobilis L.), cherry 
laurel {Primus Laurocerasus L.), poison oak {Rhus Toxicod- 
endron L.) laburnum {Gytisus Laburnum L.), are highly 
poisonous plants, and stock should be prevented from getting 
at these plants. Hemp {Cannabis saliva L.) is a sti-ong narcotic 
poison, but a few cases are known where in addition it showed 
the same properties as common flax, the fibres forming hard 
balls in the stomach and thus causing great pain and injury to 
the animals. 
It is almost impossible to deal in a general way with the 
treatment of animals that have been poisoned with some 
vegetable substance. In the first place the nature of the poison 
is extremely varied, so that ignorance of the kind of poison 
taken makes it almost impossible to employ an antidote ; 
moreover the action is in many cases so rapid, that if remedial 
measures are not taken immediately (which is most improbable) 
death results in almost every case of serious poisoning. 
This regrettable helplessness only emphasises more strongly 
the necessity for a knowledge of poisonous plants and their 
properties, »and of the symptoms in cases of poisoning. But, 
most clearly of all, it points to the prime importance of 
energetic and complete eradication of such plants from all 
places where cattle can obtain access to them. 
