618 DISEASES OF CATTLE, SHEEP, GOATS, ETC. 



The shipment was made in July, and the sheep were unloaded in a 

 ravenously hungry condition. Since lupine constituted the most 

 conspicuous forage material accessible to the sheep, they ate great 

 quantities of the pods and leaves. Within a few hou^s a large 

 cumber of sheep showed signs of poisoning, and 400 died. 



The most disastrous case of sheep poisoning which the writer 

 has observed in Montana occurred on June 28, 1900, about 5 miles 

 west of Livingston. Two bands of sheep, each numbering 3,000, had 

 recently been imported from Oregon and were being "trailed" west 

 along the railroad track. The two bands of sheep were driven over 

 parallel but slightly different courses during the day and arrived at 

 the same point at night. One band came in contact with a consider- 

 able quantity of lupines (Lupinus cyaneus) in a ripe condition arid 

 ate large quantities of the pods. The other band followed a course 

 by which no lupines with pods could be obtained. The first band was 

 driven across a small stream, where both were watered, and after 

 crossing the stream found and ate considerable quantities of lupine 

 pods. During the night symptoms of poisoning developed, and ulti- 

 mately 1,900 out of the 3,000 sheep in the first band died, while none 

 in the other were affected. A preliminary investigation of this case 

 led the writer to suspect malicious poisoning. A subsequent post- 

 mortem examination of about 75 sheep showed that all the sheep 

 that died had eaten large quantities of lupine pods in a ripe con- 

 dition. The symptoms were such as were observed in other cases of 

 lupine poisoning, and the evidence as a whole pointed conclusively 

 to lupine as the cause of death. 



The symptoms of lupine poisoning are so well known in Europe 

 that chronic lupine poisoning has been given the name lupinosis. 

 In this country the chronic form has not been observed. In cases of 

 lupine poisoning in Montana there was noted an acute cerebral con- 

 gestion, accompanied with mental excitement. The sheep rushed 

 about in different directions, butting one another and other objects. 

 The first stage of frenzy was soon followed by a second stage, charac- 

 terized by pronounced irregularity of movement, spasms, and falling 

 fits. In the majority of cases death occurred in from one-half to one 

 and one-half hours. In extensive cases of lupine poisoning it was 

 uniformly observed that a number of the sheep lingered on from 

 two to four days before they died. The muscular convulsions resem- 

 bled those caused by strychnine. The excretion of the kidneys was 

 much increased and frequently was bloody. Postmortem examina- 

 tions of sheep poisoned by lupines revealed conditions similar to those 

 in acute forms of loco disease, with the addition of a congested con- 

 dition of the kidneys. 



No remedies have been tried in cases of stock poisoning from 

 American species of lupine. From our general experience with 

 potassium permanganate it seems reasonable to suppose that this 

 substance would probably destroy the lupine alkaloids in the stom- 

 ach if administered promptly after the first signs of poisoning. 

 In the main, however, reliance should be placed upon prevention. 

 With regard to the use of lupine hay, our experience and observa- 



