TALL LARKSPUR. 7l 



slightly dizzy and had to a considerable extent regained its bright 

 appearance. The rectal temperature at 5.30 was 102.6 . At 7.15 the 

 sheep was running about the pen restlessly and had a good appetite. 

 On the following day it fed and walked about as usual. 



Ex])et'iment 7. — At 1.55 on the same day in which the above experi- 

 ment was made the same quantit}^ of the same extract was fed in the 

 same way to a sheep of n-early the same weight, but within a minute 

 afterwards a dose was given which contained a quarter gram each 

 of potassium permanganate and aluminum sulphate in the form of a 

 1 per cent aqueous solution. The symptoms subsequent!}^ noted, con- 

 sisting as they did in a deep narcosis only, were wholly attributable 

 to the effects of the alcohol. The animal was watched closely for five 

 and one-half hours, but showed none of the symptoms of larkspur 

 poisoning, and on the following morning it was as well as usual. 



JExpervment 8. — The only remedy with which experiments were 

 made in the treatment of cases of poisoning from this plant was 

 drenching with a solution of potassium permanganate. The test of 

 the efiicieucy of this remed}^ in the case of cattle was not so severe as 

 it was in the case of sheep. Potassium permanganate in doses of 

 25 grams was given to 4 cattle and all of these animals recovered. 

 The remedy was applied during the incipient stages of poisoning, and 

 therefore before it was possible to know whether or not they had eaten 

 a sufficient quantity of the tall larkspur to produce death. The ani- 

 mals, however, recovered more rapidly than could have been expected 

 without treatment, when it is considered that three others which were 

 not treated- died within about six hours after the first development 

 of the symptoms of poisoning. But it is obviously impossible in the 

 case of animals just beginning to manifest symptoms of poisoning to 

 predict whether or not they will die if not treated, unless the identity 

 of the alkaloid is known, the size of the fatal dose, and the amount 

 which has been eaten by the animal poisoned. Naturally these con- 

 ditions can not be realized in doing field work on plants of which the 

 poisonous principles have not yet been isolated or studied chemically. 



SYMPTOMS. 



The sj^mptoms of poisoning by this plant may be described as fol- 

 lows: In general, the animals affected manifest symptoms similar to 

 those produced by overdoses of aconite. The first signs of poisoning- 

 are usually a general stiffness and irregularity of gait. There is often 

 a pronounced straddling of the hind legs in walking. These symp- 

 toms increase in sev^erity until locomotion becomes difficult or impos- 

 sible, and the animal finally falls to the ground. It usually falls and 

 gets on its feet again a number of times, the muscular movements 

 becoming more and more irregular and incoordinated. At the same 

 time the skin is very sensitive to touch, and the muscles of the sides 



