142 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



as in every canias patch there are many small seedling bulbs, 

 size alone is no safe criterion. As long as the fruiting cap- 

 sules remain upon the plant, however, they are easy to dis- 

 tinguish. The capsules of the death camas are much smaller 

 and more closely set upon the stem, and the scapes are more 

 slender. The leaves, too, are narrower, and usually folded 

 lengthwise, while those of the true camas remain flat. In 

 spite of the Indian's knowledge of the dangers of the plant, 

 cases of poisoning often fatal, seem not to have been uncom- 

 mon among them. In Indian medicine, according to Chestnut, 

 the bulbs are used as a poultice for boils, and for bruises and 

 sprains, and are also applied as a cure for rheumatism. 



Although the use of camas for food has never become 

 general among the white inhabitants of this section, many 

 people, as a novelty, enjoy digging and eating the bulbs in a 

 raw state, and children are sometimes poisoned through fail- 

 ing to distinguish these from the bulbs of the death camas. 



The bloom of- the death camas is very attractive, being 

 white with each section of the perianth bearing a yellow' gland 

 at the base. The many-flowered scapes rise to a height of 

 from six inches to two feet, much exceeding the narrow incon- 

 spicuous leaves. In the Willamette Valley the blossoms ap- 

 pear about the middle of June, and are rather short lived. 



Horses and cattle are sometimes made sick from eating 

 death camas, but seldom with fatal results. By far the great- 

 est loss from this plant occurs auKjng bands of sheep. Ac- 

 cording to Mr. Lawrence, of the Oregon Agricultural Col- 

 lege, the fatalities to sheep sometimes reach as high as "twenty- 

 one per cent in a band" in regions where the plant is com- 

 mon. In the same connection he states that all parts of the 

 plant are dangerous, but are "poisonous in the following order, 

 beginning with the most toxic ; seeds, mature pods, flowers, 



