SECTION I 



Poison Parsnip (Water Hemlock) as a Plant Deadly to 

 Live Stock in Nevada 



SUMMARY 



(1) The poison parsnip or water hemlock is a poisonous weed com- 

 monly found along ditch banks and in wet pasture lands throughout 

 the larger part of Nevada. 



(2) The leaves look somewhat like those of celery or the common 

 parsnip. They are dark-green and glossy. The plant sends up long 

 branching stems from two to even five or six feet high, bearing numer- 

 ous flattened clusters of tiny white flowers. 



(3) The rootstock is thick and fleshy with numerous branches some- 

 times as thick as a man 's thumb. The main root, rootstock, has numer- 

 ous empty spaces in the middle with cross-partitions. When it is cut 

 little drops of a yellow poisonous sap ooze out. 



(4) In late* summer the seeds fall into the water and are carried 

 away for long distances, finally being washed out upon wet pasture 

 land or else lodging against the bank of the ditch, producing new 

 plants. 



(5) A long and complete series of experiments, 19181920, conducted 

 by the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station showed that (a) the 

 leaves and stems are not poisonous in summer or autumn, and large 

 quantities might then be eaten by either sheep or cattle without harm ; 

 (b) the roots are deadly throughout the year, the old rootstocks being 

 more poisonous than the new; (c) the first green leaves and stems 

 coming up from the ground in the spring are deadly, almost as much 

 so as the roots themselves; (d) under ordinary conditions very few 

 animals ever get the roots in summer and autumn. Frost and ice in 

 winter frequently loosen and heave up the roots. They may then be 

 pulled and eaten in the spring by animals attracted by the new green 

 growth. 



(6) The greatest danger comes from the tender green shoots in the 

 spring. They are apt to show up strongly along ditches before the 

 grass begins to grow, and may then be eaten greedily by animals 

 hungry for green feed. 



(7) Losses from poison parsnip (water hemlock) are readily pre- 

 vented by keeping stock away from places where the plant grows in 

 the spring, until other green feed is making a good showing. 



(8) Along ditch banks the poison parsnip may easily be grubbed out. 

 It appears to be unnecessary to dig the whole root, as apparently if the 

 top of the rootstock is cut off, no new shoots will be sent up from the 

 remainder. Roots which have been dug should be dried in a place 

 where cattle cannot get at them and then burned ; for even when dead 

 and dry they are still extremely poisonous. 



(9) This bulletin contains a detailed report of feeding experiments 

 on which the above conclusions are based. 



