UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



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BULLETIN No. 405 



Joint contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 



WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief, and the 



Bureau of Animal Industry, A. D. MELVIN, Chief. 



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Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



December 5, 1916 



LUPINES AS POISONOUS PLANTS. 



By C. D. Marsh and A. B. Clawson, Physiologists, Drug-Plant and Poisonous-Plant 

 Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry, and Hadleigh Marsh, Veterinary In- 

 spector, Bureau of Animal Industry. 



CONTENTS. 



Part I.— Introduction 1 



Summary of knowledge of lupines as 



poisonous plants 1 



Distribution of lupines 4 



Common names of lupines 4 



Alkaloids of lupines 5 



Ictrogen 6 



Part II.— Experimental wore 7 



Pharmacological investigations by Soll- 



mann 7 



Field experiments with lupines 13 



Laboratory experiments with extracts 



of lupine seed upon mice 25 



Part ni. — Discussion and general con- 

 clusions 28 



Failure to poison sheep in 1910, 1911, and 



1912 28 



Lupine not a cumulative poison 29 



Page- 

 Part III.— Discussion, etc.— Continued. 



Toxicity of different species of lupine 30 



Toxicity of lupine leaves for sheep 30 



Toxicity of lupine seed for sheep 31 



Toxicity of lupine pods for sheep 32 



Toxicity of lupine fruit for sheep 32 



Symptoms 33 



Pathology 36 



Comparison of "lupinosis" and poisoning 



of sheep by American lupines 36 



Remedies 38 



Range conditions under which sheep are 



poisoned 39 



Treatment of range animals to avoid 



poisoning 41 



Summary 42 



Literature cited 43 



I 



i 



PART L— INTRODUCTION. 

 SUMMARY OF KNOWLEDGE OF LUPINES AS POISONOUS PLANTS. 



EARLY HISTORY AND LATER STUDIES. 



1'ho lupines have been known from very ancient times, and are 

 mentioned by many authors, e. g., Theophrastus, Marcus Fortius Cato 

 Censorius, and Phny. The last-named author (ed. 1856, pp. 49-50, 

 452-453)^ treats of the lupine at length, especially with reference to 

 its use as a green manure. Several species have been used as culti- 

 vated crops in P^urope, more especially for the reclamation of sandy 

 soils. It has been used also as a fodder crop, and the seeds ground 



Note.— This paper will be of special interest to the stockmen of the West. 

 1 Bibliographic citations In parentheses refer to " Literature cited," p. 4.3. 

 52191°— BuU. 4«.>— le 1 



