The searchlight. [volume] (Culbertson, Mont.) 1902-current, 1909-10-15
Farmers Should Familiarize
Themselves With the So
Called Weeds.
Some Varieties Of Plants Should Co
Destroyed ~ Soon a. ciseoy-
ered-Fsets About Many
That Are Dangerous.

Philadelphia, Pa.-Farmers should
famiiiarize themselves with poisonous
plants and use every effort possible
TO destroy those that are OF q danger.
GUS character.
All poisonous plants are not equal
~ Injurious to all persons. nor to all
forms OF life. For example, take the
action Of poison Ivy. Upon animals
It has no apparent external effect
horses. mules and goats eating Its
A,aves with impunity. But on the
skins Of majority Of persons II acts
with varying intensity. Some people
are entirely immune.
There are two fungous plants that
greatly resemble mushrooms. They
are known as the fly amanata and the
death cup. The latter can be distin-
guished from the common mushrooms
by Its white gills and spores and by
its growing In woods instead of in
meadows. Death cup is the most pol
sonous Of the leshy fungi.
American false hellebore (known as
itch weed). Is poisonous. the seed be-
ing especially poisonous to poultry.
Horses have been known to be poi.
soned by eating the leaves: yet sheep
seem to relish 1t and eat II with ap.
parent impunity.
Pokeweed is a well known plant
that has many household uses. but
some chemical or mechanical man.pu.
iation seems necessary to prevent III
effects when II Is eaten. The root and
the alcoholic extract OF the fruit are
quite commonly used as household
remedy for the Itch and other skin
diseases and for rheumatism.
Corn cookie Is generally known as
simple cookie. Its erect stem and
snowy. violet red flowers and pods
full Of black. irregularly rounded seed
are familiar In all grain growing
states.
Black cherry. known commonly rs
wild cherry. which Is sometimes cult.
waited ~ an ornamental shade tree,
also has poisonous qualities. The fruit
Is rather agreeable. beirg but slightly
bitter and stringent In taste. Il Is al.
60 used ~ bitters. liquor being poured
on the berries In bottles. Poisoning
Is frequently caused by cattle eating
the wilted leaves from branche.
thrown carelessly within their reach
or isnorantly offered as food. Chill.
dren occasionally die from eating the
kernels OF the seed or from swallow.
ing the fruit whole.
The writer some years ago had
quite a heavy loss among his young
geese from eating shoots OF wild cher.
~ trees that sprung up around an old
tree that was in an Enclosure where
the geese were kept. AS soon as the
cause was discovered the remaining
geese we're changed to new quarters,
and there were no more deaths.
Strange to say that while these green
leaves poisoned the geese, the general
poultry seemed immune. Chickens not
only ate the leaves but picked up the
fallen fruit with apparently no bad
effect.
Rattlebox. also known as wild pea.
Is native in low. sandy rolls from the
Atlantic westward to Minnesota and
eastern Kansas II II common In Con-
ne:Gicut. New Jersey and North Caro-
lima. The poisonous constituent n un-
known. but It lies 10th In the leaves
and the seed. Horses and sometimes
cattle are killed by eating grass or
meadow hay mixed with the plant
Polson oak. also known ~ Califor.
MA poison snmac. swamp sumac, thun.
aerwood. etc, affects the skin the
same way - poison Ivy, ana casee
voQu1ro de sane remedy.