PUEPLE LARKSPUE. 73 



the summit of the Big Belt Mountains, in the region of the Duck 

 Creek Pass, and on both slopes for a considerable distance down from 

 the summit, the tall larkspur grows so abundantly and over such 

 wide areas that extermination by digging would seem to be quite 

 impracticable. 



In order to eradicate the plant when it is at its most dangerous stage 

 it is necessar}^ that stockmen familiarize themselves with the difference 

 between it and the wild geranium in their earlier stages of growth. 



The tall larkspur is a plant widely distributed in Montana, occur- 

 ring, as a rule, in well-defined areas, es'peciall}' on mountain ranges. 



It has for several years been suspected of poisoning cattle, especially 

 after snowstorms in spring and autumn. 



Our observations show that the plant is sometimes eaten by cattle 

 with fatal results. Extracts of the leaves of young plants when fed 

 to rabbits produce alarming symptoms, and the same was true in one 

 case when fed to sheep. 



Experiments on cattle and one sheep indicated that permanganate 

 of potash is an effective antidote when given in the first Stages of 

 poisoning. 



Cattle should be kept away from patches of larkspur, especially 

 during snowstorms. 



PURPLE LARKSPUR. 



{DelpMnhitn hicolor Nutt.) 



DESCRIPTION, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION. 



A smooth or somewhat pubescent, tuberous-rooted perennial, 1 to 2 

 feet high, with a cluster of finelj^ divided long-stemmed root leaves 

 and a varying number of rich purple flowers, which appear from May 

 to August, according to altitude (Pis. IV and V). The flowers are 

 usually few in number, but large, varying from 1 to 1^ inches in 

 width. In Montana the plant is common throughout the State on 

 moderatel}^ moist hillsides and mountain ranges at all elevations up to 

 10,500 feet. Its entire range extends from Colorado northwestward 

 to Alaska. The typical form of the species is rather glabrate, but 

 frequently grades into the variety montanense Rydberg, which is 

 glandular-pilose throughout and has thicker leaves. 



The purple larkspur is readily distinguished from the tall larkspur 

 by its dark purple flowers and its smaller size. It blooms, moreover, 

 about six weeks earlier, having been found during the season of 1900 

 in full bloom by the 1st of May. The distribution of the species is 

 much more general and extensive in the State than that of the tall 

 larkspur. During the season of 1900 it was observed on all of the 



