isolated from ergot a handful of alkaloids
with very different effects: one stimulates
the uterine muscle; some are
hallucinogens; and some constrict the
blood vessels, an action that can cause
gangrene, but that also has useful medical
applications. All these alkaloids have a
basic component in common called
lysergic acid. In 1943 the Swiss scientist
Albert Hofman discovered the particular
variant that would come to such
prominence in the 1960s: the hallucinogen
lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD.Oats
The world produces more oats than rye today,
but 95% of the crop is fed to animals. Oats are
the grains of Avena sativa, a grass that
probably originated in south-west Asia and
gradually came under cultivation as a
companion of wheat and barley. In Greek and