_ talaria sagittalis. 
VOL. Ill. ] Loco Weeds. 55 
would recur. These alternate periods of excitement and quiet last- 
ed thirty-six hours, when the posterior extremities became paralyzed 
and the kitten died about two hours afterwards. There was no ap- 
parent loss of consciousness before death. The post-mortem exam- 
ination revealed the presence of ulcers in the stomach and duode- 
num. The heart was in diastole: brain and myelon appeared nor- 
mal. As might be expected from the emaciation the entire body 
was anemic.” 
She tried the same experiment on a vigorous full-grown cat with 
the same results. Two strong young cats were confined and treated - 
exactly the same, except that one was given a decoction of loco 
daily. The latter became diseased while the other remained healthy. 
The cats acquired a decided liking for the new drink and would beg 
for it as for milk. To discover its effects upon an herbivorous an- 
imal she tried feeding fresh loco to a young jackrabbit that had been 
captured. After refusing the weed for a short time it began to rel-_ 
ish it and eat it as eagerly as grass. In about ten days the rabbit 
was found dead with its head thrown back and stomach ruptured. 
She thinks that the plant is more poisonous in the fall and winter, 
after the seeds have ripened. The plants used in her experiments 
were Astragalus mollissimus and Oxytropis Lamberti. These are 
her final conclusions: ‘‘I. That there is some poison in loco weed 
which may cause the illness, and, if sufficient quantity is taken, the 
death of an animal. II. This poison is contained in the decoction 
obtained from the plants, and by systematically feeding it to healthy 
cats cases of loco disease may be produced. III. Taste for the 
green loco weed may be experimentally produced in the jackrabbit 
(an animal indigenous to Kansas). IV. From the large quantity 
of the plant or decoction required to produce the disease, the poison 
must be weak, or, if strong, it must be in a very small amount.” 
Dr. Day’s conclusions are certainly the more convincing, for her 
experiments were kept up for some time; while in the other cases 
but few doses were given. Her methods, too, were more in accord- 
ance with the manner in which an animal on the range would be- 
come poisoned. : 
In 1882, 1883 and 1884 a fatal disease prevailed among the horses 
along the Missouri valley in Iowa, Nebraska and Dakota. Dr. M. 
Stalker, State Veterinarian of Iowa, discovered it to be due to Cro- 
The symptoms were similar to those produced 
