WESTERN SNEEZE WEED AS A POISONOUS PLANT. 15 



on there were, every day, evidences of vomiting, and at times there 

 was marked regurgitation and belching of gas and rumbling of the 

 intestines. On July 1 it was noted that both pulse and respiration 

 were very irregular. These symptoms continued with little change 

 until July 7. On this day, in addition to vomiting, the animal was 

 troubled with coughing; doubtless the coughing was caused by the 

 irritation produced by some of the stomach contents getting into the 

 larynx. There was no marked change after this except that the 

 symptoms became gradually more marked. The irregularity and 

 weakness of the pulse were more apparent and vomiting was more 

 frequent, while the appetite gradually grew less, the animal not even 

 caring to eat hay. On the morning of July 23 the sheep was found 

 dead, having died some time during the night. 



As there might be a question whether lack of sufficient food might 

 not be the cause of sickness and death in cases like this, it should 

 be stated that it was clearly proved by checking up in other cases 

 that the weakness was not due to lack of food, but was distinctly 

 due to the poisonous effects of the plant. In the autopsy which 

 followed the death of the animal the only abnormal feature noted 

 was some congestion in the fourth stomach, duodenum, jejunum, 

 ileum, cecum, and rectum. 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS WITH CATTLE. 



On the Utah ranges where the spewing sickness affects sheep 

 there are no accounts of the poisoning of cattle by H. hoopesii. In 

 following the cattle upon the range where it has been so closely 

 grazed that very little remains except H. hoopesii, no evidence has 

 been obtained of cattle grazing upon this plant. Certain reports, 

 however, from Colorado ranges have led to the belief in the possi- 

 bility of cattle being poisoned by H. hoopesii. Accordingly it 

 seemed important to prove conclusively whether the plant would 

 or would not affect cattle. Two head of cattle were treated in 1919 

 and both became sick as a result of the feeding, with typical symp- 

 toms resembling those produced in sheep. The following experiment 

 with Cattle 827 may be considered as typical of the possible effect 

 of the plant. 



Case of Cattle 827. 



Cattle 827 was a yearling steer received at the station on June 1, 

 1919, weighing at that time 340 pounds. From June 6 to 8, and on 

 July 28, an attempt was made to have it eat aconite. The aconite 

 produced no effect, although the animal as shown by the curve, 

 figure 5, lost weight while in the corrals. Except for this experiment 

 with aconite, the animal remained in the pasture until the experi- 

 mental feeding of H. hoopesii was commenced, on August 5. The 



