cessfully under range conditions. Since poisoning occurs only when 

 weak and hungry animals are turned on to death camas ranges where 

 there is no grass or other green feed, and since ordinarily both sheep 

 and cattle will avoid death camas and eat almost anything else in pref- 

 erence, it is evident that the way to avoid poisoning is to keep half- 

 starved animals off death camas ranges and feed some hay until there is 

 grass ; and then let the animals scatter out and browse at will, choosing 

 their own forage. 



The plants known as death camas have long been recognized as 

 poisonous, being commonly considered as among the most dangerous 

 plants of our western sheep and cattle ranges. Although discussed in 

 nearly all publications dealing with poisonous plants, there is little if 

 any definite information concerning the quantity required to make an 

 animal sick or to cause death; and not much appears to be known 

 about the classes of live stock poisoned, the conditions under which 

 poisoning is most likely to occur, and methods of preventing losses. 

 The experimental feedings and range observations presented in this 

 bulletin were made for the purpose of obtaining exact information 

 upon these points. 



Classes of Live Stock Poisoned. 



All of the range observations seem to show that more sheep than 

 cattle or horses are poisoned by death camas. No losses of horses have 

 been recorded by the Nevada Experiment Station; and it seems that 

 cattle have been poisoned only when hungry and in poor condition in 

 the spring of the year. Many of the losses on the open range which 

 have been attributed to death camas may in reality have been caused 

 by other plants not known at the time to be poisonous. In fact, a large 

 number of range observations made by the Station show that the 

 probability of poisoning by this plant is by no means so great as is 

 commonly supposed. This side of the matter will be discussed at length 

 farther on in this bulletin. 



Common Names. 



Death camas is the name by which these plants are commonly known 

 on the range; but they are also called Mystery Grass, Poison Sego, 

 Poison Onion, Lobelia, and Poison Camas. 



In Nevada the most common kinds are the foot-hill death camas 

 (Zygadenus paniculatus) , and the meadow death camas (Zygadenus 

 venenosus). The former grows in the foot-hills among sagebrush 

 and other range browse ; the latter is more plentiful ,in moist, grassy 

 places. The foot-hill form is more common in Nevada, being found on 

 most of the ranges in the northern part of the State. 



A Description of Death Camas. 



The group of closely-related plants known as death camas were 

 formerly included in the lily family ; but this family has recently been 

 broken up by botanists who have placed the death camas in the 

 "bunch-flower family" (Melanthacece) . 



The plant is erect, producing from two to eight fully formed grass- 

 like leaves. It springs from a layered bulb set from two to eight 

 inches deep in the soil. The bulbs vary in size according to the age of 

 the plant ; but they are commonly from one-half to one and one-fourth 

 inches across and are covered by thin, black, papery coats or layers. 

 The leaves are long, narrow, and curved; varying in length from six 



