LUPINES AS POISOISrOUS PLANTS. 39 



can be administered at intervals frequent enougli to catch, the toxic 

 principle -as it enters the fourth stomach, recovery may be aided. 

 This is of considerable theoretical interest, and the method might 

 be used in order to save an especially valuable animal, but, of course, 

 range animals can not be treated in this way, for the herder may 

 have a large number of sheep sick at the same time. It is not 

 unusual for 200 or 300 cases to occur suddenly, and any remedy 

 which involves the administration of more than one or two doses is 

 useless. 



Herders frequently bleed sheep poisoned by lupine and claim good 

 results. There seems no logical reason for this, however, and the 

 experience of the wTiters at the field station leads them to consider 

 bleeding as harmful rather than beneficial. 



RANGE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH SHEEP ARE POISONED. 



It must be recognized that corral experiments, while superior to 

 laboratory w^ork in imraveUng the complex problems of plant poison- 

 ing of domestic animals, do not cover the conditions of range poison- 

 ing. It is sometimes very difficidt to decide to what extent the results 

 of intensive corral feeding can be used in the explanation of range 

 phenomena. Laboratory and corral experimentation are, of course, 

 essential in such a study, and may give, in fact do give, fundamental 

 information. An intimate acquaintance with range conditions is, 

 however, necessary for the practical elucidation of these problems. 

 Such an acquaintance with range conditions is somewhat difficult for 

 the scientific investigator to acquire. Sheep are grazed in locations 

 situated at long distances from regular avenues of travel or communi- 

 cation, and they are also moving from place to place. Cases of 

 poisoning are reported, perhaps, some days after the trouble has 

 occurred, and investigation at that tim.e is hkely to be useless. It is 

 very difficult for the investigator so to locate himself as to be able to 

 see these cases when they occur. These difficulties doubtless explain 

 why there has been so httle exact knowledge of the conditions sur- 

 rounding the losses. There has been, moreover, no way of placing a 

 correct valuation on the reports made by sheep herders and owners. 

 The average sheep herder does not have a high order of intelligence, 

 and this has led to an underestimate of the testimony of these men, 

 for the fact has been overlooked that many of them are keen observers 

 with a practical knowledge of conditions far superior to that of the 

 average scientific investigator. The writers of this paper have had 

 long and iritunato acquaintance with the western stock ranges, but 

 they have frequently been put to shamo by the wonderful, almost 

 instinctive, readiness with which an experienced sheepman will 

 unerringly recognize slight symptoms of (Jis(;ase in the members of 

 liis fiocks. Tlie W7'iters were fortunate in being able to observe many 



