58 



Loco Weeds. 



and soon threatened to bankrupt the state. Mr. Henry W. Selover 

 of Denver, who carefully collected the facts concerning the law and 

 its effects, gives the following table to show the result upon the rev- 

 enue of the state: 



The law was luckily repealed in 1885, before it had swallowed 

 the entire state revenue. The history of this legislation is a most 

 notable instance of the inefficiency of bounty laws. The destruc- 

 tion of pests can and ought to be left to those most directly con- 

 cerned. Indeed, to foster rather than destroy seems the general 

 tendency of all bounty laws. 



It seems strange, with agricultural experiment stations throughout 

 the country, that the loco question does not become settled. Much 

 of the confusion doubtless arises from the great similarity existing 

 among the species of Astragalus and Oxytropis. The poison, too, 

 may not be inherent in the plant, but due to a fungus or an insect. 

 This view would perhaps explain its prevalence during some years 

 and in certain regions and also the constantly increasing number 

 of new loco weeds. 



For much that this paper contains I am indebted to the Rocky 

 Mountain Druggist, which republished the articles from which I 

 have quoted. 



