63, 81, 130, 140, 170, 190, 203, 205, 213, 233, 254. =Larkspur= (_Delphinium Ajacis_ Reich.). In the United States of America certain species of Larkspur are exceedingly harmful to live stock, and it has been said that “with the exception of the Loco weeds there is probably no poisonous plant on the cattle ranges of the West that has caused such heavy losses to stockmen as has larkspur” (_Far. Bul. 53, U. S. Dept. Agric._). _D. Ajacis_ is the only British species, occurring in cornfields in Cambridgeshire, Sussex and elsewhere, and, like the Continental species _D. Consolida_, must be regarded as poisonous and fatal to cattle, while horses and sheep may also suffer. Sheep and goats, however, appear to resist the poison unless taken in considerable quantity. Wilcox fatally poisoned a yearling lamb within an hour of administering per os the extract from less than 1 oz. of the dried leaves of an American species. The seeds are the most dangerous part of the Larkspur, and should never be ground up with wheat should the two plants grow together. The seeds of _D. Staphisagria_ are used in medicine. _Toxic Principle._ The species _D. Ajacis_ has been little studied, but _D. Consolida_ and _D. Staphisagria_ contain the alkaloids _Delphinine_ (C_{31}H_{49}O_{7}N), very poisonous and having a bitter taste; _Delphisine_ (C_{31}H_{49}O_{7}N), which is extremely poisonous; _Delphinoidine_ (C_{42}H_{68}N_{2}O_{7}), which is poisonous; and _Staphisagrine_. _Symptoms._ The seeds are stated to be emetic and purgative, and _D. Consolida_ is stated by Pott to be an acute narcotic poison to horses and cattle. In general the symptoms appear to resemble those produced by _Aconitum_ (p. 15). There is salivation, vomiting, colic, convulsions, and general paralysis (Müller). REFERENCES. 16, 63, 93, 128, 130, 190, 203, 204, 205, 213, 233. =Monkshood= (_Aconitum Napellus_ L.). The extremely poisonous character of this plant has been recognised since ancient times, and it is mentioned by Pliny, Dioscorides, etc. It is not common in the wild state in Britain—chiefly occurring in some Welsh and one or two West of England counties—and is not very liable to cause poisoning of live stock in Britain. Cases of poisoning of horses, cattle, sheep and pigs have been recorded on the Continent, however (Cornevin), and cows died in Victoria. Linnæus says that it is fatal to cows and goats when they eat it fresh, but that when dried it does no harm to horses. Medical works record many cases of human poisoning, particularly in cases where the root has been mistaken for horse radish—from which, however, it markedly differs. The leaves at first taste insipid and then sharply burning; the root when fresh smells like the radish and has a slightly sweetish taste, which is succeeded by characteristic tingling of the tongue and a sensation of numbness in the mouth.