256 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES 



two if you wish, and the place soon heals over. In the 

 majority of cases the application of pine tar or grease 

 is all that is necessary. 



L oco . While the annual losses from the loco plant 

 may not foot up as much as from some others, it is 

 believed that in this respect it stands well towards the 

 head of the list. Certainly it is more in the public eye 

 than any other single poisonous plant in the whole 

 West. The loco plant is found generally over the entire 

 Rocky Mountain region. Extend the eastern boundary 

 line of the states of Montana and Wyoming directly 

 south till it touches the Rio Grande river, and you have 

 about the center of the area covered by the plant, 

 making" a strip some 600 miles wide and extending 

 from the Canadian to the Mexican borders. 



Loco is found everywhere. It is most common on 

 the open prairies but grows plentifully in the moun- 

 tains where the elevation does not appear to make any 

 particular difference in its growth. There are many 

 varieties of the plant, as well as several other plants 

 mistakenly called loco. However, the fact has been 

 very well established that there are but two species 

 which are generally called loco. These are aragallus 

 lamberti, and astragalus mollissimus. Of the two the 

 former is the most widely distributed and is responsible 

 for most of the damage to stock. Both have flowers 

 of various hues, ranging from deep violet to rich purple, 

 not unlike those of the common sweet pea. 



In aragallus lamberti, the plants growing on the 

 prairies are frequently a beautiful creamy white, while 

 in the mountains the darker colors are more prominent. 

 In places the. loco grows in great patches and to the 

 uninitiated looks like a field of alfalfa. On the plains 



