74 BULLETIlSr 365, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



the kidneys, and distinct congestion of the walls of the heart, asso- 

 ciated with a general congestion of the peripheral circulation. 



TOXICITY OF DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PLANT. 



In the course of the experiments careful notes were made with 

 regard to the part of the plant fed to the animals. Some animals 

 were fed leaves and stems; others leaves, stems, and flowers; others 

 the tops with the seed; and, in the case of DelphiniuTn memiesii 

 and DelphiniuTrh andersonii, some were fed the roots alone. 



There is a widespread belief among the stockmen of Colorado 

 that the roots of Delphinium menmesii are much more poisonous 

 than other parts of the plant. It is said that cattle are much more 

 likely to be poisoned after a rain, when they can pull up the plants 

 by the roots and devour a large quantity of the latter. In the 

 summer of 1909 special attention was paid to the feeding of roots 

 to the cattle. Two animals — ^Nos. 92 and 117 — were fed roots alone 

 of Delphinium 'inenziesii. No. 92, in 2 days, ate an equivalent of 

 2.47 pounds per 1,000 pounds of weight, and No. 117, in 1 day, ate 

 2.1 pounds of roots without any symptoms of poisoning. These 

 quantities, to be sure, were not very large; but it is highly improb- 

 able that an animal upon the range would ever be able to consume 

 as much. The stem of Delphinium, menBiesii is quite brittle and, 

 while it is entirely possible to pull up the roots by the stems while 

 the soil is moist, the larger part of them, as was proved by experi- 

 ment, will break, and it is improbable that cattle in their grazing 

 will get any considerable number of roots. These experiments 

 would seem to prove that the roots of Delphinium^ m^nziesii are not 

 violently toxic. The roots of Delphinium, harbeyi are long and 

 tough and are never pulled up by stock, so that for grazing they need 

 not be considered. The feeding experiments with Delphinium, 'raen- 

 ziesii throughout the season of 1910 were of the whole plant, and 

 there was no reason to think that the roots were especially toxic. 

 In the experimental feeding of the roots of Delphinium, andersonii^ 

 given in detail on page 58, only sheep were used, so no results were 

 reached as to the comparative toxicity of different parts of the plant, 

 as there is no evidence that sheep are poisoned by any part of the 

 plant. The experiment was significant as indicating that in ail 

 probability sheep are not injured by the roots of this plant. 



The charts (figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) for the feeding of both Del- 

 phinium harbeyi and Delphinium menziesii show quite clearly the 

 greater toxicity of the seeds. It will be noticed from the charts that 

 in the feeding of plants at the time when seeds were present a smaller 

 quantity was necessary in order to produce symptoms of poisoning. 

 In this connection, the case of heifer No. 633 is especially interesting. 

 This animal was found dead in the pasture September 2, 1911. 



