EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XIII. No. 1. 



The los.s of domestic animals from poi,sonous plants has long been 

 recognized as a more or less serious obstacle to stock raisers, espe- 

 cially in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific coast regions. In the more 

 thickly settled regions of the Eastern States the land is more exten- 

 sively cultivated, and there are comparatively few areas left in their 

 natural condition and covered with native vegetation. Under such 

 circumstances the existence of poisonous plants in large areas is prac- 

 tically impossible. On the Western cattle ranges, however, cattle, 

 sheep, and horses depend almost exclusively for their sustenance upon 

 the native forage of the country, which includes a number of plants 

 which have been found to be poisonous when eaten in large quantities. 



A great difference of opinion has prevailed with reference to the 

 identity of the plants which are responsible for stock poisoning and 

 as to the best antidotes or remedies to be applied in actual cases of 

 poisoning. Considerable work along these lines has been done by the 

 Washington, Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota, and Montana stations, 

 and during the season of 1900 an investigation of the poisonous plants 

 of Montana was undertaken by the Division of Botany of this Depart- 

 ment. The experiments conducted during this investigation, in the 

 field and in the laboratory, established the poisonous nature of a 

 number of common plants and indicated a convenient and effective 

 remedy in most cases. 



The problem of plant poisoning in a State like Montana is perhaps 

 as important as any connected with stock raising, and has been only 

 partially solved. A number of interesting and highly important lines 

 of work remain for investigation by veterinarians and botanists of 

 States which are most affected by plant poisoning. Among these 

 may be mentioned a determination of the poisonous or nonpoisonous 

 character of a considerable number of native plants which have been 

 suspected of being poisonous by stockmen; experiments in the eradi- 

 cation of these plants by irrigation, displacement ])y means of aggres- 

 sive forage plants, or other methods which may be practically applied 

 with some hope of success under the local conditions which prevail in 

 different cases; experiments on the nature and cause of "loco" dis- 

 ease; experiments on the exact localization of the poisonous principles 

 contained in lupines and the time when these substances are most 

 active; and experiments in perfecting simphiand effective antidotes. 



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