194 Kansas Academy of Science. 



ON THE PRESENCE OF BARIUM IN THE ASH AND 

 EXTRACT OF CERTAIN KANSAS WEEDS. 



By E. H. S. Bailey and L. E. Sayre, University of Kansas, Lawrence. 



O OME time during the last year, at the suggestion of Dr. S. J. 

 ^ Crumbine, we made an analysis of ash of certain weeds grow- 

 ing in this state. It was thought that there might be some rela- 

 tion between the composition of the ash of these weeds and the 

 acute disease, anterio poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis), which has 

 been prevalent in Kansas as well as throughout other states within 

 the last two or three years. As there was one case reported in 

 Douglas county, one of us (Bailey), in company with F. Agrelius, 

 on October 13, visited the locality, which is about twelve miles 

 southwest of Lawrence, and collected samples of the weeds growing 

 in the pastures where the cows were feeding. The milk of these 

 cows had been used by the family. This was, however, not a 

 typical case of infantile paralysis, as the family had not lived in 

 this locality very long, having come from Osage county. The 

 weeds growing in the pasture were of the ordinary variety found in 

 upland pastures. As there was a swale with a small stream run- 

 ning through the pasture, some of the plants were more or less 

 aquatic. The genera and species of the plants were identified by 

 Mr. Agrelius. 



For the chemical analysis, a convenient amount was ashed and 

 special tests were made, after a few preliminaries, for the amount 

 of ash, insoluble residue (iron, alumina, phosphoric acid, calcium 

 oxide, magnesium oxide, and especially barium oxide). 



The following weeds were found growing in the Moss pasture: 



Goldenrod— Solidago altissima L. 



Horsemint— Monarda fistulosa L. 



False indigo— Amorpha fruticosa L. 



Ditch stonecrop— Penthorum sedoides L. 



Spanish needles— Bidens in volucrata (Nutt.) Britton. 



Goldenrod— SoUdago rigida L. 



Cottonwood leaves— Populus deltoides Marsh. 



Three-seeded mercury— Acalypha virginica L. 



Aster— Aster Leevis L. 



Aster dumosus L. 

 Sour dock— Rumex altissimus Wood. 

 False indigo— Bap tisia leucantha T. & G. 



Aplopappus ciliatus (Nutt.) D. C. 

 False gromwell— Onosmodium occidentale Mack. 



