Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Corn-cockle

CORN-COCKLE, or Agrostemma Githago, L. is an indigenous, annual plant which grows in corn-fields, and bears purple flowers in the month of June or July. It is very prolific, and produces a great number of pods, each of which contains from twenty to thirty seeds, somewhat resembling those of the turnip; they impart a strong taste and an unwholesome quality to the bread baked of corn mixed with them: such grain ought, therefore, to be employed in distilleries, or the manufacture of starch.

There is a variety of this species, which produces similar, but smaller seeds than the former, and exhibits a peculiar mode of vegetation, being found within the wheat-ear, one side of which is filled with good grain, and the other with a spurious one, produced by this weed. Hence, husbandmen have given it the significant name of ear-cockle. It is by no means so common as the former variety, but is generally attributed to bad husbandry, by which the land is exhausted of its nutritious qualities, and weakened to such a degree as to be prevented from bringing the wheat to perfection; because this plant is never found on lands that are well cultivated, and properly managed. It is eaten by horses, goats, and sheep.