OCR Text |
Show Mass of 8tlpa Grass. Wo quote below, Bays tho Literary Digest, from nn nbstrnct mado for tho H Ilcvuo Sclenttflquo. Says tho writer: "In South America chiefly in tho J vast plain that extends from Patn-gonla Patn-gonla up to Ilnhla Blauca, nnd nlso In tho provlnco of Santa Fo nnd In J Uruguay, thero are largo grasses ot H the genus Stlpa, which grow in tho J spring, nnd whoso. misdeeds havo been J exposed by Mr. Blnnchard. "Theso grasses havo a fruit about B 75 millimeters (three Inches) long, fl ninde up of three parts; first, a short H basal portion formed ot a conical H axis with a vory sharp point covered with sharp still hairs directed back- J ward; Bccond, a cylindrical part J formed of a membrane enclosing the .seed; and third, a shaft llko that of an "All tho Stlpas ot South America have theso arrows, which, when tho wind blows, strlko people in tho 1 fnco nnd hands, nnd produce very I I painful wounds; they are so nbun-dnnt nbun-dnnt thnt thoy ndhcro to the, fences, forming a continuous frlngo miles In legnth, nnd giving tho II-luslon II-luslon of vast lines of loam. A man may get rid of tho darts that 1 light on his heard, hair or clothes, but it ho neglects to pluck them off at onco thoy penetrate the thickest garments and rench the skin; it an attempt Is made to withdraw them they break, and tho seed remains embedded in tho cloth, bolng removed with great dlf- Acuity. In any case, although man may contend successfully ngnlnst HBb them, animals are unnblo to do so, nnd tho shcop thnt nro bred In such BBb numbers an tho pampas nro their HBl chief victims; tho darts of tho Stlpa ponctrato their eyubnlls and blind H them, bo thnt, being no longer ublo H to find their way about, thoy dlo of hunger nnd thirst. Tho seeds nlso form nmld the hnlr of tho feet, und over tho whole cutaneous surface u mass of sharp points which every ' movement pushes nto tho flesh, giving fl rise to ulcers, to which the animal fl generally succumbs. "Tho darts nlso ponctrato Into tho salivary glandB of herbivorous ant-mals, ant-mals, whero thoy accumulate in great mnssoB; thoso form especially under tho tongue, whero thoy rendor dllDcult tho movements of tho organ and tho prehension of food. "Tho genus Stlpa is dlssomlnacd throughout warm nnd temperate re- fl glons, but Is rarely found In Eu-ropo. Eu-ropo. There aro nbout n hundred spif-cles, spif-cles, ot which four nro found In Franco, but as these grasses aro driven out by cultivation, they aro seldom found In gardens nnd fields, nnd aro not at all dnngcrous to cnttlo In France." |