Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1909-08-06
The Loco Disease of Live Stock in
the West.


certain weeds eaten by the stock.
Investigations by the United States
department Of agriculture have not
only confirmed the supposltion as
to the poisonous effect OF these
plants but have resulted in the dis
covery and Identification Of bari
um rs a definite poisonous element
in them. Feeding experiments
establishing the fact that the
plants are responsible for the dis
ease were carried on under field
and corral conditions by DR.. {.
dwight Marsh while the discovery
Of barium was made in the labor
atory by DR.. A. G. Crawford.
( The loco weeds are a class of le
guminous plants IF which the
principal ones are the purple loc"
weed-Astragalus mollissimus-
and the rattle Interchangeable
LAMBERT. One or both of these
prevail to greater or less extent
over an area including all or parts
Of Montana, Wyoming, North Da-
kota, South Dakota, Minnesota,
Nebaska, Kansas, Colorado, Utah,
Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and
Oklahoma.
The characteristic symptoms Of
the disease are slow, staggering
gait rough coat, staring vacant
look, and emaciation. The affect
ed animals have hallucinations,
cannot be led or backed, show
more or less lack Of muscular
! coordination, gradually lose flesh,
and die. The affection comes on
in a slow and cumulative manner,
and there is no possibility of ami.
mails becoming immune by contin-
ually eating the plants.
The proverb IAN ounce of pre-,
vention is worth a pound of cure
j. applies to this disorder. Attic
] good results can often be obtained
, by the treatment of locoed ami
\ mails, the most effective way Of
l. dealing with the trouble is to keel
: the animals from eating the loco
y plants. Wherever practicable thu
). weeds should be exterminated from
the range or pasture and the hes
d way Of doing this is simply 70 Gu
d them out. This method however
e while often practicable on LAM
r under private control, can no
s very we'll be applied to the publ
range. In many cases much ca
n be accomplished by keeping ami
' mails away from loco covere
, ranges during the time when fee
. is short, as they are much NOR
likely to contract the habit q
= such a time. 1t may sometime
!. be profitable to feed them for
S short time in order that the loo
h eating habit may not be formed.
After animals have becom
n affected the first essential in thei
D treatment is to place them wher
D. they can not eat the loco weeds
e They should be given plenty {
y nutritious! feed and so far as prat
" ticable feed with laxative proper
~ ties, such as green alfalfa. Som
may recover under this treatmen
1t without recourse to medicine
Ie With most animals, however, re
ID covery is fastened by medics
'e treatment. Wy
81 81 AS a result of its experiment
10 the department of agriculture sul
gests the following treatment
For cattle, strychnin in doses {
70 three-twentieths to four twent
Is eths of a grain daily, administers
at hypodermically. For horses, Fov
lg ler's solution of arsenic in hal:
to ounce doses daily in the drinkin
'e water or in the grain. This trea
Sc ment should be continued for ;
i. least a month. To correct tt
'e constipation which is almost IN
versal in locoed animals, magnes
UNI sulphate-Epsom salt-may /
administered as a drench in
II ounce doses. Epson salt may all
re serve to some extent as an antido-
It. to the poison produced by Il
ID weeds. Beneficial results his,
Id also been obtained by giyiI
at horses daily a drench containing
ounces of EPSON salt with
drops Of dilute sulphuric aci,
and by giving cattle tri-week,
ur 3 to A ounces of Epson salt with
IN proportional increase in the qual
Is. tity of dilute suplhuric5 acid.
er AS the foregoing Treatments Al
rs in the experimental stage, Il
= Bureau Of Animal Industry, Was
ington, DC, would be glad |
receive reports Of results fro
s, their use.
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