acid as a result of the action of enzymes on more highly complex 

 bodies.^ 



Ball- in 1902 stated that at that time there had been no official re- 

 ports to his office of cases of poisoning bj- Johnson grass, but that there 

 were some newspaper statements to that effect. He thought these 

 accounts were probably not authentic, but stated that "since Johnson 

 grass is closely related to sorghum, which is known to be poisonous 

 under some circumstances, it would not be surprising if Johnson grass 

 should also be poisonous under like conditions. * * * In compari- 

 son with the great number of cattle fed or pastured in Johnson grass, 

 the reported cases of poisoning are extremely rare." 



The first report of the poisonous action of Johnson grass which 

 reached the Department came from Miles City, Mont. Mr. William 

 Story reported that he and a neighbor had lost several head of cattle 

 after thej^ had eaten small quantities of the grass, and that they had 

 died very suddenh'. Mr. Story suggested that there was "something 

 peculiarly poisonous about the grass." The Commissioner of Agricul- 

 ture in publishing this report stated that "although the grass has been 

 cultivated in the South for fortj' or fiftj^ years, no similar charges have 

 been made against it.""' 



In India this plant is widely used as a fodder for cattle,* and the 

 natives make use of the seeds for food. It has been noted there that 

 deaths in cattle frequentlj' occur when, on account of the failure of rain, 

 the plants which have reached a certain size become stunted and 

 withered. The toxic principle appears simultaneously over a wide area, 

 but soon disappears if a rainfall occurs.'' The deaths of cattle have 

 been attributed by some to an insect living upon the plant, and in 

 Australia it is the belief that Sorghum vulgare, which also yields hydro- 

 cyanic acid, becomes more poisonous when attacked by an insect dur- 

 ing a drought. A similar observation has been made with Sorghum 

 vulgare in the Sudan. Balfour" found that one specimen of the plant 



1 Diinstan, W. R., and Henry, T. A. The Nature and Origin of the Poison of 

 Lotus Arabicus. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London, 1901, vol. 194, B., p. 515. 



Duustan, W. R., and Henry, T. A. Cyanogenesis in Plants. Phil. Trans. 

 Roy. Soc. London, 1902, vol. 199, A., p. 399. 



Slade, Henry B. Prussic Acid in Sorghum. Jour. Amer. Chem. Soc, 1903, 

 vol. 25, pp. 55-59. 



Slade, Henry B. Study of the Enzymes of Green Sorghum. Fifteentli Ann. 

 Report, Agr. Expt. Sta. of Nebraska, 1902, pp. 55-62. 



Briinnich, J. C. Hydrocyanic Acid in Fodder-plants. Jour. Chem. Soc, 

 1903, vol. 83, part 2, pp. 788-796. 

 - Loc. cit., p. 23. 



■' Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 18S5, p. 74. 

 •*I)uthie, J. F. Fodder Grasses of Northern India, 1888, p. 41. 

 ■''Pease, ?L T. l*oisoning of Cattle by Andropogon Sorghum. Jour. Compar. 

 Med. and Vet. Arcli., vol. IS, 1897, p. 679. See also Agr. Ledger, hsiuj. No. 24. 

 " Balfour, Andrew. Cyanogenesis in Sorghum Vulgare. First Report, Well- 

 come Research Laboratory, at Gordon Mem. College, Kliartum, 1904, p. 47. 



