26 
JNO. A. BELL. 
He also says : “ As far as I know, the smut of timothy has 
never been examined chemically, nor have experiments been 
instituted to determine its action on the animal system. But 
until it has been shown to be harmless it will be safe to regard 
it with suspicion, and to avoid pasturing grass or feeding hay 
that is known to contain much of it.” 
Dr. Salmon, in reply to an inquiry from E. A. Prior, of 
Ohio, in 1887, said : 
“ I have never seen true smut in timothy, but have fre¬ 
quently seen it affected with ergot.’’ Of course, I don’t feel 
competent to present the scientific side of this question or to 
argue it in any form. I simply give you my opinion, based on 
my observations and experience in the cases I have had. In 
the first place, the general appearance of the grasses, includ¬ 
ing timothy and others, corresponded with the descriptions 
I had read of smut. Second, the weather during the season 
had been muggy and very wet, these being the conditions de¬ 
scribed by the authorities as favorable to the development of 
smut, ergot and other fungi. 
This smut appears to have nearly all the medicinal prop¬ 
erties of ergot. Yet I have never known in my practice a 
case of abortion from smut, although it is spoken of in many 
instances as having produced such an effect. 
Nothing definite is known respecting the morbid anatomy 
of ergotism. It derives its name from the fact that it is the 
result of the ingestion of ergot. Beyond its effect as an irri¬ 
tant poison, the specific influence of ergot is exerted upon the 
organs of circulation, upon the central nervous system, and 
upon the uterus. Ergot produces a remarkable slowing of 
the cardiac rhythm, the arteries become contracted, with 
diminution or even disappearance of their channel, or forma¬ 
tion of thrombi,.the blood pressure falls and the veins become 
dilated and distended. 
The most recent and consistent theory respecting these 
phenomena is, not that the muscular coats of the arteries ac¬ 
tively contract, but that the veinous walls are primarily re¬ 
laxed. The veins are thus overfilled and the arteries drained of 
blood. The blood pressure is lowered and the heart, being 
insufficiently fed, contracts feebly and slowly. 
