204 
Ergot  of  Diss. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1886. 
considerably  in  size,  from  3  to  9  centimeters  in  length,  and  from 
2  to  2J  millimeters  in  diameter,  this  ergot  being  probably  larger  in 
proportion  to  the  size  of  the  seed  on  which  it  grows  than  any  other, 
except,  perhaps,  that  of  the  Timothy  grass  (Phleum  pratense,  L.). 
Shortly  after  the  discovery,  by  Tulasne,  of  the  mode  in  which  the 
sclerotium  or  ergot  develops  the  fructification  of  the  fungus  known  as 
Claviceps  purpurea,  M.  Durieu  de  Maisonneuve,  following  the  pro- 
cess adopted  by  Tulasne,  cultivated  the  sclerotium  of  the  ergot  of 
diss  and  obtained  the  same  fructification  that  is  produced  by  the  ergot 
of  rye.  Notwithstanding  the  difference  in  size  and  shape  of  these 
and  of  the  ergots  of  several  other  grasses,  it  would  appear  that  all 
that  have  yet  been  cultivated  must  be  referred  to  the  same  fungus.1 
If  this  be  true,  it  becomes  an  important  fact  in  its  relation  to  agricul- 
ture, since  unless  ergot  in  grasses  be  kept  down  or  destroyed,  the  crops 
of  cereals  must  suffer.  That  the  different  forms  of  ergot  possess  the 
same  properties  appears  evident  from  the  injury  to  cattle  from  ergot- 
ized  grasses  that  has  been  reported  of  late  years. 
The  ergot  of  diss,  when  small,  is  slightly  curved,  but  when  long 
(6-9  centimeters),  it  takes  a  spiral  turn  from  right  to  left,  the  longi- 
tudinal furrows  being  present  on  the  inner  face ;  being  of  less  diam- 
eter than  ergot  of  rye  it  is  dryer  and  more  brittle.  It  is  collected  in 
June,  July  and  August  during  dry  weather.  If  collected  later  the 
sun  appears  to  have  an  oxidizing  effect  on  the  ergot.  In  September 
the  ergot  is  found  to  contain  less  oil.  In  a  dry  place  it  keeps  well, 
being  less  hygroscopic  than  ergot  of  rye.  M.  Lallemand,  of  Algiers, 
who  introduced  this  ergot  into  use  in  medicine  in  1860,  says  that  he 
has  kept  it  for  three  years  without  any  visible  alteration,  and  has 
never  noticed  on  it  the  acarus  which  attacks  the  ordinary  ergot  of 
commerce.  He  remarks,  however,  that  the  acarus  does  not  attack 
ergot  of  rye  so  long  as  it  is  dry,  but  appears  as  soon  as  the  drug  be- 
comes damp. 
M.  Lallemand  (to  whose  instructive  paper  on  the  subject,  published 
in  1862,  I  am  indebted  for  most  of  the  information  here  given),  has 
made  a  chemical  examination  of  the  ergot  of  diss.  He  finds  that  the 
oily  fluid  exhausted  by  chloroform,  ether  or  bisulphide  of  carbon, 
1  The  ergots  of  the  following  grasses  have  been  referred  to  Claviceps  purpurea, 
Tulasne: — Psamma  arenaria,  Lolium  perenne  and  L.  temulentum,  L.,  Triticum 
sativum  and  T.  repens,  Avena  elatior,  Brachypodium  sylvaticum,  Dactylis  glomerata, 
Alopecurus  agrestis,  Olyceria  aquatica,  and  G.  fluitans,  Anthoxanthum  odoratum. 
