LEGUMINOSAE— LUPINUS 549 



fodder. In late fall, and especially after early snowstorms, the lupines constitute one of the 

 chief forage plants on some of the mountain ranges. It should be remembered that the 

 leaves of lupines remain green and the plants offer slightly succulent forage after other 

 plants have become dry. 



The first case of poisoning from lupines which was brought to our attention occurred 

 in August, 1896. A band of sheep, while being moved from one range to another was 

 driven rapidly, and was constantly in a very hungry condition, when it was allowed to 

 feed in a field of lupine for a short time. Within two hours after beginning to eat the 

 lupine a number of sheep manifested violent symptoms of poisoning, and a few died within 

 one hour after the appearance of the first signs of poisoning. Of the 200 sheep in the band 

 100 had died before the following morning. The season of 1896 was rather late and at 

 the time when the poisoning occurred the lupine pods were fully formed, but the seeds 

 were not quite ripe. In this case the sheep were driven away from the lupine as soon as 

 the first symptoms of poisoning had been noticed and some of the sheep had eaten only 

 small quantities of the plant. About ISO out of the 200 were affected, and as only 50 of 

 these ultimately recovered it will be seen that the death rate was very high. 



The owner of these sheep, during the same season cut ai quantity of lupine hay during 

 the second half of July. In the winter of 1897 a band of ISO bucks belonging to the same 

 sheep raiser were kept in a covered corral and were fed on cultivated hay. On one after- 

 noon during the winter these bucks were given a liberal quantity of the lupine hay. About 

 three hours after feeding this hay a noisy disturbance was noticed among the sheep. Upon 

 investigation the owner found the sheep in a frenzied condition, and during the night 

 about 90 of them died. No more lupine hay was fed and no more trouble was experienced. 

 They state further that the lupine poisoning occurred in various parts of 

 the state, in 1898 about 2,000 having been poisoned. 1,150 sheep died out of a 

 single band of 2,500 sheep. They also state that one sheep raiser in Deerlodge 

 Valley lost 700 sheep from the poisoning of lupine. They report another case 

 which occurred on June 28, 1900, near Livingston, in tw^o bands of sheep, each 

 numbering 3,000, which were being trailed westward from Livingston. The 

 sheep were liberally salted before being started on the trail; the first day they 

 traveled about 5 miles, and camped on opposite sides of a small stream. After 

 watering, one band was driven across the creek and camped on a bench about 

 30 feet higher than the stream. On the following morning, the sheep which 

 had been driven across the stream manifested symptoms of poisoning; tiltimately 

 1,900 died. This poisoning is referred to as lupinosis, a disease of which in 

 Europe both acute and chronic forms are recognized, but in the United States the 

 chronic form only has been recognized. The marked symptoms of poisoning 

 are acute cerebral congestion, and great mental excitement. The sheep rush 

 about in different directions, often running against the herder or other persons. 

 The first stage of frenzy is followed by a second stage in which there is pro- 

 nounced irregularity of movements and violent spasms, and falling fits. In 

 many cases death occurs in from 1 to 1J4 hours. The pulse dtiring the attack 

 is strong and regular. Lower animals are attacked by convulsions, and these 

 convulsions resemble those caused by strychnine poisoning. The excretion of 

 the kidneys is increased, and sometimes it is bloody. The post mortem condi- 

 tions are described by Chesnut and Wilcox as follows : 



Post mortem examinations of the sheep poisoned by lupines revealed conditions very 

 similar to those found in the acute cases of loco disease, already described above, with the 

 exception that in loco disease the kidneys were not affected. The lungs were slightly con- 

 gested, but this condition was not so pronounced as in cases of larkspur poisoning. The 

 cerebral membranes were in all cases congested. In the more violent cases small blood 

 vessels had been ruptured in various parts of the body, which may have been due either 

 to increase of blood pressure or to the struggles of the animal. 



In regard to the treatment. Dr. Wilcox recommends as follows : 

 No remedies have been tried in cases of stock poisoning from American species of 

 lupine. From our general experience with potassium permanganate it seems reasonable 



