No where in my orig post did I say that I supported this as a reason for the hysteria in Salem, and Apologize if anyone took it as if I did. The 1st url is abt the pharmacology of Ergot/RyeSmut, the 2nd is the effects on animals. With the knowledge and use of Ergot in medieval times it seems unlikely that people [anywhere] would take this lightly when harvesting, and take extra precaution not to include any effected grain in storage for consumption of people or animals. >http://www.healthy.net/library/journals/naturopathic/vol1no1/news/clavines. htm >http://vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/cover1.htm