10 



BULLETIN 69, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The experimental work had three objects in view: 



(1) To determine whether the plant was poisonous in summer and early fall. 



(2) To settle defuiitely the question of the danger to live stock from eating hay 

 containing Cicuta. 



(3) To obtain material for verifying and amplifying the description of symptoms 

 and the effects of Cicuta poisoning. 



This work was carried on in the summers of 1910 and 1911. 



FEEDING CICUTA TO SHEEP IN 1910. 



In Table I is given a summarized account of the sheep-feeding 

 experiments of 1910. The details of the cases follow. An attempt 

 was made to feed two other sheep, but neither could be induced to 

 eat the material. 



Table I. — Summary of feeding experiments with Cicuta ocddentalis, 1910. (Sheep.) 



Animal 



Weight. 



Amotmt fed. 



Period of feeding. 



Part of plant fed. 



No. 108 



Pounds. 

 100 



91 

 100 

 93 

 96 



48 



Pounds. 



51.5 



41 

 91 

 2.5 

 (Very little.) 

 (Very little.) 



Aug. 14 to 23 . 



Roots, stems, leaves, and 



No. 104 



Aug. 26 to Sept. 9 



seeds. 

 Roots. 



No. 125 



Aug. 26 to Sept. 11 



Sept. 15 to 16 



Sept. 15 to 21 



Stems, leaves and seed. 



No. 102 



Roots. 



No. 101 



Do. 



No. 115 ... 



Sept. 17 to 21.. 



Do. 









Animal. 



Period of sickness 

 (until able t o 

 stand). 



Remedy used. 



Result. 



Ratio of 

 plant fed 

 to weight 

 of animal. 



Amount 

 fed to 100 

 pounds of 

 weight of 



animal. 



Location 

 from which 

 plant fed 



was 

 obtained. 



No. 108 



No. 104 



No. 125 



Short attack; 35 



minutes. 

 [About 1 minute. .. 



u to2 minutes 



[23 minutes 



Potassium p e r- 

 manganate. 



None 



do 



Recovery. 



...do 



Not .sick. . . 



Death 



Not sick.. . 



1: 1.9 



1: 2.3 



1: 1.1 

 1:37.2 



Pounds. 

 51.5 



45 



91 

 2.7 



Sellinger. 



Allison. 

 Do. 



No 102 . 





do .. . 



Do. 



No. 101 





.do 



Do. 



No. 115 





do 



...do 







Do. 

















Case No. 108. 



Case Xo. 108, a wether weighing 100 pounds, was taken out of the pasture on the night 

 of August 12 for feeding with Cicuta. The feeding was commenced at 11.30 a. m. 

 on August 14, when he was given ground tubers of Cicuta ocddentalis. During the 

 day he ate very little except what he got accidentally in picking out oats that had been 

 thrown upon the ground material. On the morning of August 15 he was given an 

 additional quantity of Cicuta roots, this being mixed with hay -with the feed that had 

 remained from the preceding day. Apparently very little of this was eaten except 

 what was obtained accidentally in connection with taking the hay, but by the night 

 of August IG he had eaten a considerable amount of roots. On August 17 he was 

 fed Btems and tops of Cicuta, the plant being in seed. This was entirely eaten up 

 with what remained of the Cicuta roots by the night of August 17. On the morning 

 of August 18 more of the ground roots was fed with cut hay and it was all eaten. 

 Because of lack of material he was not fed on August 19. On August 20 and 21 he 



