SECTION XXIII. 



POISONS. 



Closely approaching in extent the losses among 

 sheep due to parasites are the losses from poison- 

 ing. The poisons destructive to sheep naturally 

 fall into three classes, as follows : 



A. Mineral Poisons. 



B. Vegetable Poisons. 



C. Animal Poisons. 



On the Western ranges whole bands of sheep, 

 numbering several thousand each, have been 

 wiped out in a week, sometimes even in a single 

 day, from eating poisonous plants or drinking 

 water impregnated with some unsuspected toxic 

 matter. 



It is a well known fact that certain localities 

 abundantly supplied with springs are uniformly 

 deadly to sheep. Sometimes only one certain pas- 

 ture or part of a gulch is affected in this way. 



In the mountain ranges a great variety of ore 

 formations occur, such as lead, zinc, copper, sil- 

 ver and gold, salts of which sheep may ingest with 

 their food or drink. Sometimes the poisoning as- 

 sumes a chronic form, due to the fumes from 

 smelters being deposited on the grass that is eaten 

 by the animals. The diagnosis in these cases is 

 extremely difficult. In sections of the country 

 poisons, such as strychnin, phosphorus and ar- 



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