lO 
Colorado Experiment Station 
]:)]ants. And it is quite certain that stock eat considerable quantities 
of the fungus in their grazing and feeding. 
Injury from rusts .—Rusts no doubt cause considerable irrita¬ 
tion of the mouth and the digestive organs and when eaten in large 
quantities give rise to a catarrhal condition or even severe inflamma¬ 
tion. Rust}^ clover and alfalfa are especially objectionable. Rusts, 
as a group, are not poisonous. 
jMolds 
Many fungi are known by the name of ‘hnold.” Well-known 
ones occur on fruit, bread, and cheese. A bluish-green moldy growth 
develops on hay, ensilage, fodder, and the kernels of corn, barley, 
and other cereals, usually when they are cured or stored under moist, 
warm, or poorly aired conditions. 
Poisoning by molds .—Some of the molds are very ]:)oisonous and 
others are not. The inability to tell which molds are poisonous 
should make one cautious about feeding moldy foods of any kind. 
Poisoning by molds was discussed on a previous page under the sub¬ 
ject of fungi. 
Ergot {Claviccps purpurea) 
Ergot is a name applied to one stage of a fungus working in the 
heads of a number of grasses. The ergot stage is a purple-black, 
straight or horn-like hard structure about one-fourth to one-half 
inch long (fig. i). It occupies the position of the grain in the head 
Fig. 1.—Ergot: Note the black, horn-like bodies occupying the position of the grain. 
Ergot is shown here on six different grasses, cultivated rye at the left, the remainder na¬ 
tive forage grasses. 
