HERDING STOCK AWAY FROM POISONOUS PLANTS. 39 



On a cattle ranch near Aug'usta it has invaded a timothy meadow and 

 entiri^'.y killed out the timothy as far as it has spread. This brome 

 grass produces a heav}^ crop of hay, and a few stockmen, haying- noticed 

 its good points, are preparing to saye seed for sowing upon other parts 

 of their ranges. Although work and observations along this line 

 extend oyer only three or four years, the outlook is promising, and it is 

 perhaps not unreasonable to hope that by assisting the distribution of 

 the brome grasses, bluejoint, and other aggressive forage plants the 

 quantitj"^ of poisonous plants upon the range may be appreciabl}'' 

 diminished. Both the smooth ])rome grass and the short-awned begin 

 to grow in the spring earlier than the other range grasses or poison- 

 ous plants, and both these grasses are greedih' eaten l)y all range 

 stock. This ))eing the case, it is evident that stock will be less apt to 

 eat poisonous plants in the early spring when these desirable grasses 

 have become established in great a))undance. 



HERDING STOCK AWAY FROM DAXGEROUS AREAS. 



Attention has alread}' l)een called to the possil)ilities of avoiding 

 poisoning plants by judicious herding. In the present state of the 

 study of poisonous plants perhaps the most important practical rec- 

 ommendation is that all herders should ])e made thoroughly familiar 

 with the appearance of the different poisonous plants in all their stages. 

 This familiarity should l^e such as to enable the herder to recognize 

 them at a glance, and to put him in a position, therefore, so to direct 

 his sheep that they will avoid the areas where poisonous plants grow. 

 This knowledge is especially desira))le for herders when caring for 

 sheep on the trail or at feeding stations. In discussing lupine poison- 

 ing a case will be mentioned in which 400 sheep died from eating- 

 lupine immediately after ))eing unloaded from the cars. It would not 

 have been difficult to prevent these sheep from getting the lupine at 

 the time if the herder had known the dangerous nature of the plant. 

 Another instance of this sort happened at Baltic where a band of 

 sheep was unloaded for quarantine on account of suspected scab. Dtir 

 ing the lirst day after being unloaded the sheep ate death camas, and 

 100 of them died. The herder recognized the plant, and after that 

 day avoided areas where it grew, with the result that he lost no more 

 sheep. 



In a dry climate such as that of Montana it is well known that on 

 portions of range where animals are not allowed to feed the native 

 grasses attain a considerable height, come to maturity, and remain 

 standing in the condition of hay without losing any nutritive princi- 

 ples. It is, therefore, quite possible for a sheep raiser to abandon any 

 range which is badly infested with poisonous plants until late in the 

 summer or until fall, when these poisonous plants are too coarse and 

 dry to be tempting. No loss of forage will be suffered by adopting 



