The representative., 1899-11-16

~ovvous WEEDS WHICH KILL OFF
OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALs:
.u,,. Loco Plant IL Considered the
Worst - Death Turks IN many
Plants Common ON Farms-Fffty-
two Plants Known to He Poieonous
and seventy-six Are Suspected Of
BeinK of That Nature.

The unfailing instinct in wild animals
which teaches them what forms OF vegetA-
ton are harmful or poisonous seems 70 oe
lost when the animals are domesticated.
as a result of which thousands of head OF
live stock are lost in this country every |
year through poisonous vegetation. To
prevent this loss in 80 far as possible the |
department of agriculture has been making |
scientific investigation and tests, and has
now issued preliminary catalogue Of plants |
poisonous to stock by v. X. Chestnut, b.
S., assistant In the botany division of the
department. Mr.. Chestnut describes So
plants known to be poisonous to stock, 80
plants concerning the poisonous qualities OF
which there is good, though not positive
evidence and 81 plants which come under
the head of suspects. Nearly all of these
forms of vegetation are of common growth
in various parts of the country. and as
many of them are as dangerous to human
beings as to cattle the catalogue contains
Information Of value to the general public
as we'll as the farmer and stock raiser.
OF the grasses, which nearly all ruminant
animals of this continent feed upon. several
species are dangerous The seed of the dar
mel, or poisonous rye grass which grows
abundantly on the Pacific slope. is said to
be dangerous to both animals and man. In
New Mexico and Arizona grows a perennial
grass locally known as sleepy grass, which
horses and cattle bred in that region rec
ognize and eschew as harmful; but imported
stock feed upon it and often die Of its mar
cot1c effects, falling into deep slumber from
which 1t is impossible to arouse them.
Indian corn grass has been described as
fatal to cattle when eaten in considerable
quantities. but Mr.. Chestnut believes that
the poisonous properties are due, not to the
vegetation itself, but to parasitic growths
upon it, The common species of ergot
which grows among meadow grasses causes
yearly heavy mortality. Every year farm
ers report the poisoning of cattle from eat
Ing golden rod, but this, too, is very likely
case Of parasitic growth known as rust.
Another product of the flower garden and
one of the most beautiful, is a swift and
violent poison to man and beast alike; the
delicate and fragrant lily of the valley.
Cases OF severe poisoning are on record,
where people have merely bitten at the
stems of the flower in abstraction.
Most dreaded of all poisonous weeds by
the ranchman is the loco weed, common in
one or other of It's forms throughout the
West where it does enormous damage to
stock. The chief damage is to horses which
seem to take to the weed more readily than
cattle and soon become locoed. A horse is
said to be locoed when he acquires an
unnatural appetite for the deleterious weed.
Once in this condition. he will touch no
other food and in a short time becomes
crazy, in which state he sometimes runs
wild, lashing out with his heels and biting
at any man animal that sOmes near him,
and sometimes staggers about with droOp-
ing head and half closed eyes until death
supervenes. The cause of death is thought
to be inaniton rather than actual poison
ing in loco cases, there is nourish-
ment in the weed and the animals addicted
to the habit pine away with surprising
rapdity. The loco habit in horses is COM
parable to the opium or hasfeesh habit in
human beings, except that the animal, hav
ing no reasoning powers to act as a check
upon his appetite, succumbs more quickly.
The state of Colorado between 1881 and
1885 paid out in bounties nearly 100000 in
effort to exterminate the woolly loco
weed which is the commonest species in
that region, but the plant is still abun-
dant there. Heavy losses are reported
yearly from the lambert or stemless loco
weed also. To sheep the lupines, genus
of herbaceous shrub, are almost as deadly
as the loco is to horses. though there Is
some question whether the plant contains
actually poisonous qualities or causes death
from purely mechanical effects by cloggine
the intestines and causing bloating. Reports
from three herds in 1898 show mortality
o. about 1000 from lupine eating.
In the eastern half of the United States
where it chiefly grows the rattlebOx OF
rattlewood is an object Of concern to farm
ers, lest it become mixed with hay in cut
ting, for in this way 1t is frequently fata
to horses, and sometimes to cattle. In 1t:
growing state animals winn OF touch 1t
This curious weed is also source OF ex
treme terror to human beings, who en-
counter it after the plant has begun to ge
dry and the oblong pods which 1t bear:
begin to stiffen, for In that condition thu
peas within the pods, when the plant l!
struck or brushed aside, rattle with al
exact and blood chilling imitation of thu
warning Of the rattlesnake, whence thu
plant takes it's name, Crotalara sagittalis
frCm Crotalus, the Sc1ent1nc name OF tnt
rattlesnake family.
At least one species of the common butter
cup is poisonous to cattle, the celery
leaved or cursed crowfoot, and it Is though
that all the kinds of buttercups which grow
in, swampy lands are dangerous. In gen
eral however, cattle avoid all the butter
CUPS on account of the extremely acri(
cattle. The common milkweed or ascleplas
though commonly avoided by cattle, ha
been known to cause death when mixed witt
hay A few cases of poisoning by jimsol
weed in hay are also cited. The propertie
of the common swamp hellebore, know
also as Indian poke, are not yet fully un
derstood. Cases are known of both men an
horses being poisoned by this plant We
sheep eat the young leaves and shoot
greedily and without evil effects. On tn
other hand, the seed is death to chickens.
Boxwood. highly esteemed for hedges Il
the New England states. is poisonous to al
plant. which is much cultivated in tn
South, and has escaped from cultivation
there and flourishes in the wild state, ar
known to be poisonous to horses and sheep
The same is true Of the leaves Of the to
bacco plant when dry; the fresh leaves ar
eaten in small quantities by stock withou
Injurious effect. The broad leaf laurel
which is common all along the Atlanti
coast, kills many sheep and cattle ever
season. The water hemlock is another dan
gerous weed, the plants frequently becomin
mixed with hay and killing the cattle tha
eat the hay. Hogs are poisoned by tn
blood root, or red root, wild plant whfc
exudes red, paint-like sap when the roc
ia broken: also the American cOcklebul
People have been poisoned by drinking tn
milk of cows which had been feeding upo
the mandrake, the Juice Of which is pow
erful purgative. Sneezeweed causes bitter
ness in the meat and milk Of cattle that fee
upon 1t. and the common wild garlic taint
the milk of cows to such an extent that
is UNIT for consumption ~..-
An unusual case Of plant ravages Is cite
from Michigan, where a vast tract Of re
claimed swamp land has been made practi
cally worthless by the growth of a dens
crop of the slender nettle all over 4
Horses cannot be driven through thi
growth, and, therefore. the land cannot
cultivated. Among trees, the leaves {
which are poisonous to stock are mentione
the camman yew, or ground hemlock. th
wild black cherry, the black greasewood, q
chico of the Southwest, which causes gres