12 BULLETIN 947, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



tion continued. At 10.55 a. m. the animal appeared to be somewhat 

 bloated, and breathing was noted as very irregular and noisy. The 

 respiration was in groups of two or three, followed by holding of the 

 breath after inspiration. These conditions continued Unchanged 

 during the day, the animal growing worse. On the morning of June 

 27 it was found dead. 



In regard to the symptoms, it should be noted that the tempera- 

 ture continued during the sickness practically unchanged, the 

 extremes being 100.6° to 105.3°. The high temperature, however, 

 was noted only once and in repeated observations the temperature was 

 only between 102° and 103.6°. The respiration varied somewhat more 

 widely, running from 36 to 150. There was, however, no continued 

 period of rapid respirations. The animal apparently had naturally 

 a somewhat rapid pulse, as, on the day before the experiment, it was 

 found to be 114. During the whole period of the illness, however, it 

 ran high, going up as high as 156 and not falling below 121. 



In the autopsy petechia? were found on the surface of the heart and 

 the trachea was somewhat congested, as were the lungs. In the 

 alimentary canal the mucous membrane of the first, second, and 

 fourth stomachs was congested. Congestion also was found in the 

 duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, but not in the rectum. 



There was a small mass of coagulated serum in the rumino-reticular 

 groove and in the anterior groove of the rumen. It was noted that 

 the blood vessels beneath the skin were somewhat congested. 



Typical Case of Sheep 421. 



This sheep can be taken as typical of those cases of prolonged 

 feeding in which the principal symptom produced by the H. Jioopesii 

 was weakness, and in which vomiting was not exhibited. The sheep 

 was a ram received at the station June 6, 1917, and at that time 

 weighed 95 pounds. On August 6 and 7 an attempt was made to 

 have the animal eat Zygadenus elegans. This feeding did not pro- 

 duce any effect. On August 27 a beginning was made of feeding 

 H. Jioopesii. At this time the sheep weighed 126.5 pounds. The 

 general plan of feeding was to give the animal all the H. Jioopesii it 

 would eat, and with it was mixed more or less alfalfa hay to induce 

 the animal to eat more readily. In preparing the material for feed- 

 ing, ordinarily there was used from 3 to 5 times as much H. Jioopesii 

 as hay. In some instances, however, more hay was mixed with the 

 uneaten H. Jioopesii. Between August 27 and September 18 the 

 animal ate 47.925 pounds of H. Jioopesii per hundredweight of ani- 

 mal. The total days of feeding were 23, but symptoms appeared in 

 19 days after an average daily ration of 2.83 pounds of the plant. 



The sheep ate quite readily and appeared to be in good condition 

 until September 6, when it did not seem quite right. Distinct symp- 



