LESS IMPORTANT SPECIES. 119 



An inspection of the latter showed, however, that about two leaves 

 and a small portion of the basal part of the stem was all that had been 

 eaten. The apparent loss of 35 grams was therefore almost entirely 

 due to desiccation. No ill effect w^s noted, but the experiment showed 

 conclusively that the plant was objectionable. 



With the hope of obtaining some idea of the symptoms of poison- 

 ing, all of the remaining portions of the plants gathered May 30 were 

 ground in a sausage mill on June 5, and the olive-green, slightly 

 turbid juice expressed therefrom was fed to another rabbit. The 

 plant material used had been retained in a tin box, as above mentioned, 

 and was still nearl}" as turgid with milky juice as when fresh. A 

 quarter ounce was injected through the mouth into the stomach of a 

 vigorous 1-pound rabbit at noon, June 6. After three hours the effect 

 exhibited had been so slight that one-half ounce more was given. An 

 hour afterwards the animal appeared anxious, and was easily frightened 

 and much disinclined to move. The respiration was rapid. The head 

 was also throbbing and pulsating in a way which indicated that the 

 brain was badly affected by the poison. This throbbing of the head 

 continued with nearly total loss of appetite until 5.30. It was still 

 apparent the next morning. The respiration and pulse were then 

 rapid and the animal was not at all vigorous. Nearl}^ the same condi- 

 tions prevailed on June 8 and 9. On June 12 it had recovered its nor- 

 mal condition to a great extent and was used for another experiment. 



Twentj^-five minims of the expressed juice from plants collected in 

 the evening of June 1-1 were administered h3'podermically on June 16 

 to a 26-ounce rabbit, but no marked s3'mptoms resulted. 



The woolly -pod milkweed {Asclepias eriocarpa)^ a plant which, on 

 account of the great similarity between the two, is often mistaken for 

 the showy milkweed in California, is especially dreaded by California 

 sheep men on hot days when the}^ are obliged to drive their flocks 

 through barren valleys where there is little water, because the succu- 

 lence of the plants tempts the animals to quench their thirst by eating 

 them. The remedy employed is to send someone a few days ahead of 

 the sheep to cut the plants down. The dried herbage may still be 

 poisonous, but the sheep are not tempted to eat it. 



No experiments were made to determine the value of the perman- 

 ganate mixture as an antidote, but it could probably be used to great 

 advantage. 



CALIFORNIA SWAMP HELLEBORE. 



( Veratrum californicum Durand.) 



A stout herbaceous simple-stemmed perennial 2 to 7 feet high, with 

 a fleshy root 3 to 6 inches long, large plaited leaves of varying 

 size, and a large, branched, terminal cluster of many small greenish- 

 yellow flowers which bloom in June and July. In Montana the only 



