TRANSLATIONS FROM CONTINENTAL JOURNALS. 121 
abundance of the ergot ( Veterinarian , 1842). In the facts 
enumerated above it is almost impossible not to recognise 
the existence of ergotism both gangrenous and convulsive 
amongst our domestic animals. Still we must acknowledge 
that they do not present that rigorous correlation of cause 
and effect which the exigencies of pathology demand; they 
do not even furnish the element of a symptomatic cadre . 
Randall furnishes on this point some valuable information, 
which agrees with what is contained in the interesting obser¬ 
vations of M. Decoste (Rec., 1848). These facts, connected 
with the phenomena as studied in domestic animals, furnish us 
with the symptoms of gangrenous and convulsive ergotism; 
but before proceeding with this question, it is necessary to 
say a few words on the ergot of wheat and maize. In a 
memoir presented to the Royal Society of London, 1844, 
Sydney advanced that the ergot of wheat, although rarer than 
that of rye, is nevertheless more frequent than is generally 
believed. That it occurs in damp, clayey land, and that it is 
more poisonous than that of the rye. This is, however, not 
borne out by facts, as experiments have convinced Mialhe that 
their properties are identically the same, and that on analysis 
the two give the same products. We are indebted to Dr. Rolin 
for what is known on the ergot of Indian wheat, which is very 
common in the provinces of Neyba, Marquita, and Columbia. 
A pyriform body occupies the place of the corn, which the 
inhabitants have named “ mais peladora.” People who con¬ 
sume it lose their hair and sometimes their teeth. Pigs lose 
their bristles, become weak in their posterior parts, and other¬ 
wise atrophied. The depilation of mules is simultaneous with 
the loss of their hoofs. Hens lay eggs without shells. Neither 
gangrene nor convulsions are, however, observed. Although 
T. Schudi states that the ergot of Indian wheat is used in 
the pharmacies of Lima instead of that of rye, the affections 
which it causes have a greater affinity with the pellagra than 
ergotism. Since Ballardini has discovered a parasitical fungus 
on the Indian wheat, Sporisorium maidis, many Italian phy¬ 
sicians are of opinion that this may be the cause of the 
pellagra; but these are only surmises which will form a 
groundwork for further researches. 
