86 STOCK-POISONING PLANTS OF MONTANA. 



amount of labor. This can be done b}^ repeatedly cutting it down, or 

 in other ways. It is advisable to avoid the use of hay containing 

 water hemlock. The plants should be removed from native meadows 

 before mowing. Sheep herders should become thoroughly acquainted 

 with the appearance of the plant, so as to be able to recognize it in 

 any of its stages. An illustration of the value of such knowledge is 

 found in the case of a herder w^ho made several attempts to water his 

 sheep at different points along the bank of a certain stream with dis- 

 astrous consequences in each case. A close observation would have 

 shown that the same plant was the cause of the poisoning in all cases. 



SUMMARY. 



- Water hemlock is widely distributed in Montana along water courses 

 and in swampy places from the lowest altitudes up to about 7,500 feet. 



The roots have long been known to be fatal when eaten by stock, 

 and cases of poisoning of stock have been reported from eating dry 

 seeded specimens in hay. 



Our observ^ations from May to July, 1900, showed that a number of 

 cattle and sheep ate the young plants, including in some cases the 

 roots, with fatal results in about 80 per cent of the cases. 



Our experiments demonstrated that the basal portions of the plants 

 less than 1^ feet high were poisonous to rabbits, and that morphine 

 and chloral hydrate are useful in counteracting the physiological 

 effects of this plant. 



In cases where large quantities of the plant, especially the root, are 

 eaten, death results so quickly that remedial measures can not be 

 applied. 



WHITE LOCO WEED.^ 



{^Aragallus spicatus (Hook.) Rydberg.) 



DESCKIPTION, HABITAT, AND DISTRIBUTION. 



An erect, tufted perennial, 4 to 18 inches high, without branches, 

 with pinnate leaves and narrow leaflets and spikes of white or slightly 

 cream-colored flowers resembling those of the pea (Pis. IX and X). 

 The pod is one-celled and when ripe the seed produces a rattling sound 

 which gives the plant the name rattleweed. It is exceedingly com- 

 mon throughout the State, but grows most abundantly on the northern 

 slopes of foothills and mountains up to an altitude of about 8,000 

 feet. While it grows freely on nearl}^ all the important ranges of the 

 State, it is most abundant in Judith Basin, the Musselshell country, 

 and the Yellowstone Valley. The situations in which it grows are 

 for the most part rather dry, and in many cases it is found quite 

 abundantly on dry prairie ranges. The habitat of the plant seems 



^ For other loco weeds, see page 99. 



