6 THE LARKSPUES AS POISONOUS PLANTS. 



dew from Z>. hrunonianum is said to poison stock, and D. vestitum is 

 claimed to be poisonous to goats." Similar reports come fromFrance.'' 

 Chesnut and Wilcox, in particular, have brought this subject to 

 public attention, Wilcox's field notes and post-mortem records being 

 especially suggestive.^ 



The main symptoms seen in the poisoning of sheep by Delphinium 

 mensiesii were a stiffness of the limbs, with awkward gait; associated 

 with this were involuntary muscular twitchings and loss of muscular 

 coordination. Convulsions with marked rapidity in the pulse rate 

 occurred. The respiration became shallow, but finally rapid. Wilcox 

 fed the chloroform and benzol extracts of the dried plant to sheep, 

 causing typical symptoms. He also called attention to larkspur poi- 

 soning in cattle.'* This work was continued by Chesnut and Wilcox." 

 They fed and injected extracts of tall larkspur {Delphinium glau- 

 cum) and of purple larkspur (Z>. hlcolor) ; but although these ex- 

 tracts produced some symptoms in rabbits and in sheep they failed to 



kill. 



Nelson pastured a sheep during May in an area in which Delphin- 

 ium mensiesii was growing. This sheep ate all the Delphinium she 

 could obtain herself, and in addition Avas fed 1,133.92 grams more, 

 but showed no symptoms. A second sheep was fed 1,111.3 grams 

 of the fresh plant in five days, but showed no symptoms. During 

 the experiment this animal was deprived of all feed save the 

 Delphinium.^ Irish o experimented by feeding the plants growing in 

 May to steers, feeding the tops of 24 plants of D. trolliifolium to one 

 and the roots to another without results. He also fed 30 plants of 

 white larkspur without results. He fails to state, however, how long 

 his feeding continued. Glover's experiments'' with rabbits were 

 rather misleading, some dying, but most survived. Gerlach ' fed 

 D. consolida to sheep without results. 



a Watts, G. Dictionary of Eeonomic Products of India, vol. 8. pp. 04, 70. 1890. 

 ^Delaford, P. Traite sur la maladie de sang des betes a laine, Paris, 1843, 



p. 173. 



c Wilcox, E. V. Larkspur Poisoning of Sheep. Montana Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 



1.5. 1897. 



<z Wilcox, E. V. Poisonous Plants of Montana. Montana Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 



22, p. 45. 1899. 



e Chesnut, \. K., and Wilcox, E. Y. Stock-Poisoning Plants of Montana. 

 U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Botany, Bui. 26, p. G.5. 1901. 



1 Nelson, S. B. Feeding Wild Plants to Sheep. Proc. Sec. Ann. Meeting 

 Assoc. Expt. Sta. Veterinarians. 1898. U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Animal Ind., 



Bui. 22, p. 11. 



V Irish. P. H. Plants Poisonous to Stock. Oregon Expt. Sta. P.nl. 3, p. 2.5. 



1889. 

 ft Glover, G. H. Larkspur and Other Poisoiious Plants. Colorado Agr. Expt. 



Sta. Bui. 113, p. 17. 1900. " 



i Dannuann, C. Gesundheitspflege, 1880, p. 841. 



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