460 



GRASSES OF IOWA. 



plant occur in bunches, e. g. , fascicled They taper at the 

 lower end. On cutting the roots a sharp, pungent odor is given 

 off, intensified by boiling. In addition to tbe frequent cases 

 of poisoning of human beings, cattle are not infrequently 

 killed by it. Such a case was investigated by the writer some 

 years ago, where a number of cattle died from the effects of 

 eating the roots of the plant that grew in a meadow near a 

 hay stack.* 





Fig. 217. Cowbane, (Cicuta maculata). Common In low meadows. Poisonous. 

 (Div. Bot. U. S. Dept. Agrl.) 



Squirrel-tail grassf has long been a troublesome weed in 

 many parts of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois, and is one of our 

 worst meadow weeds. Though originally a native of the sandy 

 seashores from Nova Scotia to Maryland, and the upper great 

 lakes, it has spread from the great lakes to adjoining prairie 

 country, and now may be said to be common from the great 

 lakes to the Rocky mountains, although there are several 

 allied species in the Rocky mountain country. This weed is 



* Pammel, Bull. la. Agr. Exp. Sta. 28. 

 tOranfre Judd Farmer. 1894:23 Jl. 

 Bull. la. Agrl. Exp. Sta. 31 



