66 DISEASES OF CATTLE. 



but there is good reason to think that this is not true, and at the 

 present time there is no accepted explanation of this disease, al- 

 though there seems to be no doubt that it is connected in some way 

 with the condition of the corn. Whether a given field is poisonous 

 or not can only be determined by experiment, and the wise farmer 

 will keep his cattle under close observation when they are first turned 

 into a cornfield. 



WATER HEMLOCK (CICUTA). 



This plant, growing in wet places by ditches and along creeks, 

 is the most poisonous of North American plants. The root is the 

 poisonous part, and cattle generally get it when it is plowed up or 

 washed out by high water. Sometimes they pull it up, for the plant 

 occasionally grows out into ditches so that the whole plant will be 

 taken in grazing. The most marked symptoms of Cicuta poisoning 

 are the violent convulsions, which remind one of the effect of 

 strychnin. 



Treatment. — 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. 

 KSome 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 occiu- in 

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

 maturing. 



SymptoTns. — 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. 



Treatinent' — 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. Nearlv all cases will recover 



