WRONGLY SUSPECTED SPECIES. 149 



animals it is eaten greedily — sheep, cattle, and horses appearing to 

 like it as well as the cultivated legumes. It was observed that it 

 makes a good growth even in exceedingly dry soil. In one locality 

 which had been less favored with rain, and where native grasses had 

 been badly dried up, a field was found in which the plants stood at a 

 height of 18 inches and covered the ground completely. It was in full 

 bloom and in good condition to be cut for hay by June 10. As soon 

 as the pods appear they are greedil}^ eaten by sheep, and seem to be 

 preferred to the other parts of the plant. All parts, however, are 

 eaten in hay. Large quantities of it were fed to sheep and calves 

 without any injurious effects, and it is certainly destined to be a 

 valuable forage plant. 



WHITE MILK VETCH. 



{Astragalus drummondii Dougl.) 



An erect perennial, 1 to 2 feet high, soft-hairy throughout, with 

 numerous pinnatelj^ divided leaves, white flowers in long crowded 

 racemes which blossom in June and Juh^, and long slender greenish 

 pods which droop upon the stems. The species grow abundantly upon 

 prairies and hillsides in nearly all parts of the State, having been 

 found in the season of 1900 at Livingston, Bozeman, Red Lodge, Big- 

 timber, Kalispell, Great Falls, Fort Benton, Lewistown, Missoula, and 

 Deerlodge. The general distribution of this plant is from Colorado 

 and Nebraska to the Saskatchewan. 



No localities were found where this plant occupied the ground 

 exclusivel3^ It grows, however, in many areas where native hay is 

 cut and constitutes an important element of such h^iX. It was abund- 

 ant in pastures at Bozeman and at Livingston, but was not eaten by 

 stock in the pre-flowering stage. Rabbits and also a stable horse 

 refused to eat it out of hand in that condition, but a horse that had 

 been staked out to graze and had perhaps somewhat accustomed itself 

 to the plant ate a handful with apparent relish. One cow out of a 

 large herd which was grazing amongst it voluntarily ate a large 

 clump, but immediatel}' afterwards passed many others without even 

 nibbling at them. The herder stated that the cows ate the plants veiy 

 rarely, but his remarks probably referred onl}^ to the period before 

 blossoming. He had noted no ill effect from eating it. 



A hungry rabbit ate in a period of seven hours only 6 out of 50 

 grams of the plant in the preflowering stage. No ill effect was noted. 

 Another hungiy rabbit that utterly refused to eat the leaves out of 

 hand ate several bunches of the white flowers with great relish. The 

 plant seems to be eaten more readily on the range b}' sheep than by 

 cattle and horses. It is much liked in hay by all stock. Sheep seem 

 to have a special fondness for the pods of the various native legumes 



