POISOKS AND POISONING. 67 



Treatrtient. — Little can be done in the way of treatment. The 

 logical thing is to attempt to control the convulsions by means of 

 morphia, but in view of the fact that the stomach can not be emptied, 

 the prognosis is not good, and .most cases die. 



LARKSPURS. 



The larkspurs are a source of heavy loss to cattle owners in the 

 higher ranges of the West. There are a number of species, growing 

 at altitudes from 4,000 feet to timber line, and all are poisonous. 

 A few cases of poisoning by larkspurs have been reported in the 

 eastern United States, but most of the losses are confined to the 

 West, both because larkspurs grow there in greater profusion and 

 because cattle are grazed in that region on the open ranges. The 

 losses are confined to cattle, for sheep and horses can graze on lark- 

 spur with no resulting harm. Most of the larkspur losses occur in 

 the spring and early summer, as the plants lose their toxicity after 

 maturing. 



Symptoms. — Larkspur poisoning is accompanied by a definite line 

 of symptoms. In range animals the first symptom noted is generally 

 the sudden falling of the animal and consequent inability to rise. 

 After a while it may rise, only to fall again. This may happen re- 

 peatedly. In severe cases the animal lies prone and exhibits nausea, 

 accompanied by vomiting. It dies of respiratory paralysis, death 

 many times being hastened by the asphyxia following the vomiting. 



Treatment. — The animal, if found down, should be turned so that 

 its head is uphill in order to relieve the lungs. Many cases will 

 recover with no further treatment. Nearly all cases will recover 

 if a hypodermic injection is given immediately of phj^sostigmin 

 salicylate 1 grain, pilocarpin hydrochlorid 2 grains, strychnin sul- 

 phate I grain. 



The loco i^lants have caused especially heavy losses of cattle, horses, 

 and sheep. They grow in the semiarid regions of the West and some- 

 times in great luxuriance. The best Imown are the " blue loco," the 

 " woolly loco " or " purple loco," and the " white loco " or " rattle- 

 weed." The blue loco is common in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, 

 and Utah. It affects both horses and cattle. The purple loco. 

 Astragalus moUissimus, is common in Texas and the adjoining States 

 and extends north as far as Nebraska and Colorado. It is especially 

 destructive to horses. The white loco, Oscytropis lamberii, is still 

 more widely distributed, being found in the plains region from 

 Alaska to Mexico and west of the Rocky Mountains to central Utah. 

 The white loco is much more important than the purple loco, for it 



