PRIMULACEÆ. =Scarlet Pimpernel= (_Anagallis arvensis_ L.). Unless it occurs in very considerable quantity this little plant is unlikely to be eaten to an extent sufficient to cause definite poisonous symptoms, as it is a cornfield weed. It may be taken, however, if animals are allowed to run over stubble. Sheep are said to refuse it in general, but have died from eating it (see below). There seems to be no doubt that if eaten in sufficient quantity it has a poisonous action, having an irritant action on the digestive tract—the intestines—as well as producing narcotic effects. Strasburger notes it as “slightly poisonous”; Bailey says “a dog is stated to have been destroyed by making it swallow three drachms of the extract,” while according to Hyams the fluid extract in 4 drachm doses is fatal to dogs (the size of the dog is not mentioned!); at the Veterinary School at Lyons horses were intentionally killed by administering a decoction of the plant; in America Chesnut notes it as suspected of killing a horse; Ewart says it “has been reported to render the chaff from oat crops infested by the weed unpalatable to stock”; and Gilruth states that a year or two ago it was responsible for the death of a large number of sheep in Victoria, apparently acting as a narcotic poison (_Amer. Vet. Rev._, July, 1913, p. 383.). On the Pacific coast the plant is known as “Poison Weed.” Grognier and Orfila are stated to have put its poisonous properties beyond doubt. _Toxic Principle._ The plant contains the glucoside _Cyclamin_ (C_{20}H_{34}O_{10}), and a saponin-like substance (Pammel). Van Rijn says it contains two glucosides. _Symptoms._ The plant has an irritating effect on the intestines and a stupefying effect on the nervous system. Cornevin states that it is never taken by the larger domestic animals in quantity sufficient to cause poisoning. REFERENCES. 10, 73, 82, 190, 203, 235, 252. OLEACEÆ. =Privet= (_Ligustrum vulgare_ L.). The facts as to the poisonous character of Privet are by no means clear, but Taylor records a case in which three children who ate the berries were attacked by violent purging, and a boy and girl died. Turner observed a case in which horses died after eating Privet. _Toxic Principle._ The Privet is stated to contain the poisonous glucosides _Ligustrin_ and _Ligustron_, not mentioned by Van Rijn, who says it contains _Syringin_ (C_{17}H_{24}O_{9}), while Pammel (1911) adds the bitter glucosidal principle _Syringopicrin_ (C_{26}H_{24}O_{17}). _Symptoms._ In horses Turner observed loss of power in the hind limbs, with a pulse of 50, temperature 102° F., slightly injected mucous membranes, and dilated pupils, with death in 36 to 48 hours. The berries are stated by Müller to cause sickness and diarrhœa. REFERENCES. 130, 190, 203, 233, 252.