LOCOWEED DISEASE OF SHEEP 



401 



suiting from loco poisoning, in case such poisoning can be brought about. 

 (3) To determine how soon appearances of poisoning occur after the animals 

 begin to feed on the plant. (4) To determine what diet is preferred by 

 animals which have once learned to eat the locoweed. (5) To determine the 

 relative importance of the various factors which the studies of 1903 had 

 indicated were of influence upon the disease. These factors were age, 

 general health, salt diet, partial starvation, and infections with sheep 

 parasites. 



Forty-three j'earlings and nineteen ewes with their eighteen lambs were 

 obtained from Mr. Paul VanCleve of Melville, Montana. Only healthy look- 

 ing animals were taken. They were of medium size for their age, and were 

 of mixed breed. The animals were dosed thoroughly with thymol and 

 creosote in order to free them from intestinal parasites so far as possible; 

 were brought to the experimental camp and placed in corrals, a numbered 

 ear tag being attached to each animal. 



Four pounds of alfalfa haj^ was taken to be a sufficient day's ration for 

 one health}' sheep, and a supply of alfalfa hay was kept with scales beside 

 the corrals, the rations for each corral being weighed out daily. Water was 

 kept in the troughs in the corrals, the troughs being filled twice a day. As 

 often as the forage in a corral was used up, the animals were moved to 

 fresh grazing ground. 



The sheep were kept in eight groups which received food as shown in 

 Table I. 



