In the _horse_, there are spasmodic movements of the hind-quarters and excessive excitement of the urinary genital organs. In _cattle_ there is cessation of rumination, grinding of teeth, dryness of muzzle, ptyalism, groaning, painful colic, dysentery, deeply sunken and watery eyes, anus wide open, and evacuation of very fœtid, blackish, glareous matter round the excrement. In _cows_ there may be suppression of milk, and abortion. In the _pig_ there is abundant salivation and vomiting, and the animal keeps its snout buried in the litter. There is also extremely fœtid diarrhœa, with dysentery.
4, 16, 27, 73, 81, 128, 130, 141, 148, 151, 190, 192, 203, 217, 255.
=Darnel= (_Lolium temulentum_ L.). The grass known as Darnel, of the same genus as rye-grass, has been recognized for centuries as a harmful species, and it is considered by some authorities that it is really the tares of Scripture which the enemy sowed among the wheat. Its effect on eyesight was known to the ancients[5], and its objectionable character was noted by Shakespeare:—
E.g. Ovid says “Let the fields be clear of darnel that weakens the eyes.” In Plautus’ comedy, _The Braggart Soldier_, one servant says to another, “’Tis a wonder that you are in the habit of feeding on darnel with wheat at so low a price.” “Why so?” “Because you are so dim of sight.” [_Agric. Jour. Union of S. Africa_, Jan. 1914, p. 82.]
“Want ye corn for bread? I think the Duke of Burgundy will fast Before he’ll buy again at such a rate: ’Twas full of darnel: Do you like the taste?” —I _Henry_ VI, Act III, Sc. 2.
Its effect when mixed with flour was also referred to by Gerarde (1597): “The new bread wherein Darnell is, eaten hot, causeth drunkenness; in like manner doth beere or ale wherein the seede is fallen, or put into the mault.”
Before the seeding stage is reached Darnel seems to be quite suitable as a food for stock, only the seed or grain being poisonous, and this not invariably so. The chief danger perhaps is that the grain may not be thoroughly removed from cereal grains, and may thus find its way into bread or cereal stock foods. Though it has caused many cases of human poisoning, fatal results seem to be rare: Dr. Taylor could record no fatal case up to 1859. Darnel mixed with barley caused the poisoning of pigs (_Veterinarian_, 1842). Johnson and Sowerby (1861) state that Darnel has in several cases proved fatal to horses and sheep. The same authorities quote a case in which 80 inmates of Sheffield Workhouse were attacked by violent vomiting and purging from the use of oatmeal containing Darnel. At the Veterinary School at Lyons a horse was killed by giving it 2 kilogrammes (4·4 lb.) of Darnel. Cornevin concluded that the amounts of Darnel necessary to kill certain animals would be as follows:—