60 STOCK-POISONING PLANTS OF MONTANA. 



some of these 5 sheep had got up of their own accord, walked about 

 for a few minutes, and then lain down again. The breathing of these 

 sheep was much improved and regurgitation through the mouth and 

 nostrils had ceased. The 5 sheep which were treated with strychnine 

 were in a slightly better condition than before the treatment. Some 

 improvement was noticeable in the pulse and respiration. None of 

 them, however, could stand on their feet even when placed in that 

 position. Of the 5 sheep which were treated with atropine, 2 had died, 

 and the other 3 were not improved in their condition. Four out of 

 the 5 sheep which were untreated were apparently in the same condi- 

 tion as when previously inspected, while the fifth had died. The 4 

 others died later. These experiments indicate that potassium perman- 

 ganate is an efficient antidote for poisoning by death camas. Atropine, 

 on the other hand, seems not to be indicated in these cases, while strych- 

 nine seems to have only feeble power of antagonizing the action of 

 death camas. All of the sheep which were treated with atropine, and 

 all but 1 of those treated with strj^chnine, ultimately died, while the 

 5 sheep which received potassium permanganate made a complete 

 recovery. 



To appreciate fully the force of the evidence, it should be considered 

 that at the time when the three remedies mentioned above were applied 

 the sheep were in a hopeless condition. Both the herder and the 

 foreman gave it as their opinion that all of the 20 sheep woilld die if 

 left to themselves. They all had been in a condition of complete 

 paralysis for a period of from twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Potas- 

 sium permanganate was used in these experiments as a chemical 

 antidote on account of its oxidizing power, and a pronounced effect 

 in counteracting the physiological action of the death camas was not 

 expected. It was hoped that if given during the early stages of 

 the poisoning while the most of the poisonous plant which had been 

 eaten was still in the first stomach, the poisonous principle might be 

 destroyed by its action before being absorbed into the blood. Not 

 enough was known concerning its physiological action to lead one to 

 expect that it would serve as a physiological antidote. The result 

 would seem to indicate, however, that the physiological action of 

 potassium permanganate is to some extent antagonistic to that of death 

 camas, and that at the same time its chemical action brings about 

 prompt and complete destruction of the poisonous principles of this 

 plant. In the cases of poisoning now under discussion it is evident 

 that a considerable quantity of the poison must have been dissolved 

 and absorbed into the blood at the time when the potassium perman- 

 ganate was given, and this portion of the poison it was evidently 

 impossible to destroy by any chemical in the stomach. If it should 

 prove on further investigation that potassium permanganate has no 

 physiological action antagonistic to that of death camas, we must 



