46 STOCK-POISUNING PLANTS OF MONTANA. 



obtainable at any drug store, was used with tlie permanganate of pot- 

 ash on the ground that it is acid in its reaction and can be far more 

 readily and safely used by stockmen than acids can. No experiments 

 were made with the perjnanganate in alkaline or in neutral solutions, 

 because the results obtained with the acid salt were wholly satisfactory 

 and we desired to utilize the full oxidizing effect of the permanganate. 

 An animal's stomach is usually acid in reaction, but it was feared that 

 on account of the general alkaline condition of the water which is 

 drunk freely by stock in Montana, the stomachs of some animals 

 might not be sufficiently acid to insure the complete oxidation of the 

 permanganate solution. 



W. D. Zoethout ^ has shown that the fatal effect of some toxic sub- 

 stances, such as potassium cyanide and atropine, is hastened in the case 

 of a certain low form of unicellular protozoan life known as Para- 

 riwecl.um anrelia^ if an acid is present at the same time and is retarded 

 by the presence of the alkali, sodium hydrate. The effect is purely 

 physiological. This retarding value has not as yet been contirmed in 

 an experimental way upon animals; still it is quite possible that the 

 extended use by the stockmen of Montana of sodium carbonate, the 

 ph^'siological equivalent of sodium hydrate, as an antidote to the poison 

 of plants may really be a practical demonstration of the matter. On 

 this account, also, it may be advisable in some instances to use with the 

 permanganate an alkali instead of an acid. Tn case the oxidation is not 

 completed in the stomach the alkali might tend to retard, if it did not 

 completely offset, the effects of the toxic compound already absorbed 

 into the system. It is certain, however, that in case of death canias 

 and larkspur, the two most important groups of poisonous plants in 

 Montana, it is advisable to use the permanganate in acid solution, or, 

 more conveniently, with aluminum sulphate. Our experiments with 

 this salt mixture are described under death camas, larkspur, and false 

 hellebore. Although not so extended as we could wish, they indicate 

 that the antidote will prove to be generally successful in cases of poi- 

 soning caused l)v these plants, and we do not hesitate to recommend it 

 as an emergency antidote in all cases of plant poisoning, especially in 

 those which are observed shortly after the plants have been eaten. 

 Other antidotes must be relied upon if a fatal dose has tdready bt'cn 

 absorbed from the stomach. 



Sheepmen have a great advantage over cattlemen in the use of this 

 antidote, because sheep, })eing constantly herded, are soon detected when 

 poisoned. It takes considerable time for the poison to be extracted 

 from the various parts of the plant eaten and to be absorbed from the 

 stomach, so that if the antidote is administered immediately, as would 

 naturally be the case, there is an excellent chance to destroy most of 



^Science, ii. ser., vol. 8, pp. 776-778. 1898, 



