FLORA OF FORFARSHIRE. 
161 
minate the herbage, and the consequence is often disease or 
death. An instance of the effects of the eating of this plant 
by cattle once came under my own observation. In the small 
village of Airnyfoul, near Glammis, several cows had their 
milk coagulated in the udder, and the proprietor could not 
assign any cause for the disease. On visiting the Den of 
Glammis immediately after, where the cattle had been brows- 
ing, I found much of the Mercurialis cropped, and on show- 
ing it to the herdboy he admitted that the “beasts” had eaten 
of it, and thus confirmed my suspicions as to the cause of 
their disease. Had herdboys, shepherds, and farmers more 
knowledge of our wild plants and their properties, than they 
generally have, much mischief might often be prevented. 
In drying, it frequently turns, like the common polypody, 
to a deep blue, and might afford a valuable pigment, if some 
means of fixing the colour were discovered. The fertile and 
sterile plants, in this quarter, grow freely intermixed. 
Euphorbia, L. Spurge. 
Br. sp. 15. F. 3. 
E. helioscopia , L. Sun Spurge. H. 292, B. 263. — E. 
June, Sept. A. 
Cornfields frequent. Its milky juice is very acrid, hence 
perhaps our vernacular name, “ Little Goody." 
E. exigua , L. Dwarf Spurge. H. 294, B. 265. — F. 
July, Augt. A. 
Cornfields frequent. 
E. Peplus , L. Petty Spurge. H. 294, 265. — F. July, 
Augt. A. 
In cornfields and waste ground common. Plentiful on the 
sea-beach at the base of the cliffs near Auchmithie. 
Okd. lxxvi.— URTICE^E. 
Gen, Br. 3. F. 2. Sp. and v. Br. 7. F. 3. 
Urtica, L. Nettle. 
Br. sp. 4. F. 2. 
U. urens , L. Small Nettle. II. 296, B. 267. — F. June, 
Sept. A. 
