March, 1906.] The Cause of Trembles in Cattle. 479 



water and milk; these were not offered to No. 6. It had eaten 

 leaves and branches of about 35 plants. No inflammation was 

 found. 



No. 8. A female rabbit, weight after death 1383 grams. 

 With aseptic precautions A. E. Guenther, Ph. D., Professor of 

 Physiology in the University of Nebraska, injected under the 

 skin of her back about l}i cubic centimeters of an extract of 

 snake-root made by boiling five ounces of the plants in two 

 quarts of water until the liquid was reduced to about two 

 ounces, after several days kept at boiling temperature again for 

 an hour and heated to boiling a third time just before using. I 

 was not looking for immediate results but three minutes after the 

 injection was made, while I was still holding her on my knee I 

 could feel her tremble and in a minute more we could see tremb- 

 ling of the loins very plainly. Half an hour later she showed 

 less decided trembling, breathing rapid and deeper than before 

 the injection, at times a twitching of loins or sides repeated not 

 rapidlv enough to call trembling but quite unnatural; also a 

 vibration of the flesh over the angle of the lower jaw, the last, 

 perhaps, not caused by the poison. She moved about freely and 

 ate lettuce and cabbage. The visible effects of the poison 

 lessened through the day and the following day seemed entirely 

 gone, except the temperature, which gradually approached the 

 normal. The injection was made at 12:15 P. M., Dec. 31. 

 11:30 A. M.— temperature 104.8°; 1:30 P. M.— 104.2°; 3:30 

 P. M.— 105.1°; 5:30 P. M.— 106.°; 7:30 P. M.— 105.8°; 9:30 

 P. M. — 106.°. Although taken fourteen times between the 

 afternoon of Dec. 29th and the time of injection it was in no 

 instance above 104.8°. Forty-eight hours after the injection 

 the tempertaure had become normal. 



Jan. 3, 7:50 A. M., I began feeding her white snake-root of 

 which she took the leaves and branches readily. I kept her 

 pretty well supplied each day with snake-root, giving also some 

 good food. The effects on her actions and appearance were not 

 striking and might have escaped notice if I had not looked for 

 them. Deep breathing, sometimes rapid, especially noticeable 

 in the loins, with some diminution of strength were noticed. 

 She would move about without urging but less rapidly than a 

 normal rabbit. Her temperature taken several times each day 

 showed no marked influence of the poison. On the whole it was 

 below normal, exceeding 103.8° only on the day she began to eat 

 the weed, i. e., before it was digested, and about 23 hours before 

 she died, when it was 104.3°. Jan. 7, her appetite was not so 

 good and her eyes dull. In the evening deep breathing was 

 noticeable and trembling resembling shivering. Next morning 

 I found her lying on her side, as if dead. When laid on top of 

 box she gasped for breath, not violently but with increasing 



