ZYGADENUS, OR DEATH CAMAS. 21 



drawn forward under her. The muscles of the legs were twitching almost continu- 

 ously, and it was with difficulty that she could get up and down. 



On June 20, at 6.30 a. m., there were about 1| pints of urine which had accumulated 

 through the night. This was preserved in alcohol, and a chemical examination 

 showed that it contained the alkaloids of Zygadenus. The diarrhea still continued. 

 The general condition of the animal was nearly the same as the preceding night, except 

 that she appeared a little stronger. She was taken out of the cage and fed alfalfa. 

 At 2 p. m. she was somewhat better than in the morning and had an appetite, although 

 she still preferred to lie down. At this time she was given 1 gram of diuretin in solu- 

 tion. At 7.50 p. m. she was much better, standing in a more normal manner and with 

 no noticeable trembling. On June 22 she was turned out, apparently all right. 



On July 15, 1913, the sheep was again kept in for feeding, and on July 16, at 10.30 

 a.m., she was given 200 grams of the mature heads of Zygadenus venenosus, consisting of 

 pods and seeds, ground and mixed in bran. 



On July 17, at 9.25 a. m., she was fed 270 grams prepared as the day before, and at 

 1.25 p. m. she was fed 180 grams. At 7.45 p. m. she was fed 210 grams. At the time of 

 the last feeding she showed the effects of the poisoning. She did not move with the 

 usual freedom, and there was some twitching of the surface muscles of the body. 



On July 18, at 9.50 a. m., she was fed 235 grams. At 6.30 p. m. she was fed 220 

 grams. During the day there was little change in the condition of the animal. 



On July 19, at 7 a. m., the symptoms were much more pronounced than the preceding 

 night. There was stiffness of movement of the legs, licking of the lips, and slight 

 trembling. This stiffness and accompanying clumsiness were more pronounced in 

 the hind legs. At 9 a. m. she was fed 255 grams and at 3 p. m. 195 grams. At this 

 time the animal was considerably weaker than in the morning. 



On July 20, at 8.45 a. m., all the Zygadenus given on the preceding day had been 

 eaten, and the general condition of the animal was about the same as on the preceding 

 night. She moved with some difficulty and with marked stiffness of the legs. There 

 was trembling of the surface muscles accompanied by some shaking of the head and 

 licking of the lips. She was unusually sensitive to noise, as she was easily startled, 

 and at such times there were sudden contractions of the body muscles. She had much 

 difficulty in raising her feet sufficiently to get over elevations of 3 or 4 inches. 



On July 21, at 3 p. m., the animal had improved in its general condition, although 

 the symptoms were still well marked . These did not differ from those seen earlier in 

 the sickness, but were less pronounced. 



On July 22, at 7 a. m., the animal moved about fairly well, but there was some 

 trembling of the surface muscles, especially in the shoulders. She improved during 

 the day and at 7 p. m. seemed to be quite normal. On July 23, at 7.55 a. m., she 

 was turned out to pasture, appearing strong and active and showing no symptoms 

 except some slight trembling when handled. 



Sheep No. 160. — This animal (Table I, section F) was a ewe lent by Mr. Ole Birke- 

 land on June 20, 1912. On July 19, 1912, she was taken in for feeding with Zygadenus 

 venenosus. At 11.05 a. m. her respiration was 28, pulse 26, and temperature 105° F. At 

 11.25 a. m. she was drenched with 125 grams of the seed heads of Zygadenus venenosus 

 suspended in water. These seed heads included the pods and seeds. At 11.35 a. m. 

 there was a little frothing at the mouth. At 11.40 a. m. her respiration was very rapid 

 and irregular. It would run as high as 200 per minute for perhaps 50 respirations, 

 then stop, only to be resumed at the same rapid rate. At this time the animal had 

 vomited. At 12.55 her pulse was 95 and very variable; her temperature was 104° F. 

 At 1 p. m. her respiration was 200 or more and the heart action regular and strong. 

 She was then given a solution of potassium permanganate. At 1.17 p. m. she was 

 getting weaker on her legs. She would start to lie down and nearly fall, but would 

 get on her feet after a minute or two and then lie down again. Her respiration was 

 about 180 per minute. At 1.30 p. m. her respiration was still rapid, the mucous 



