MEXICAN WHORLED MILKWEED AS A POISONOUS PLANT. 



DURATION OF SICKNESS. 



Table 3 shows the length of time the sickness continued in cases 

 which recovered. The times were computed from the first symtom 

 noted to the last. The actual periods of illness doubtless were some- 

 what greater, for as the animals were not generally under constant 

 observation neither the beginning nor the ending of sickness would 

 be recorded with much accuracy. The figures, however, will give a 

 good general idea oi the duration of illness and can be compared 

 with the results in the other whorled milkweeds, as they were obtained 

 in the same manner. 



Table 3. — Duration of sickness in rases of recorery. 



Animal. 



Sheep 588. 

 Sheep 595. 

 Shee)) (i03 . 

 Sheep 5.S1 . 

 Sheep 5S6. 



Duration 



of symp- 



toms. 



//. 



Til. 



50 



10 



4S 



20 



4S 



1 



7 



;«) 



7 



54 



Animal. 



Sheep 5fiS. 

 Sheep 575 . 

 Sheep 580 . 

 Sheep 002 . 

 Sheep 603. 



Duration 

 of symp- 

 toms.' 



//. w. 



'J5 54 



73 45 



74 

 5 40 



1 One observaiiiin only. 



Of the tliree animals that died. Sheep 610 was sick 89 hours and 

 35 minutes; Sheep 596, 14 hours and 56 minutes; and Sheep 595, 

 15 hours and 15 minutes. 



The shortest period of illness was in Sheep 602 — 5 hours and 40 

 minutes — -and the longest in Sheep 568 — 95 hours and 54 minutes. 

 As in other whorled-milkweed cases the symptoms continued longest 

 in the more pronounced cases. 



The average period of sickness was 45 hours and 42 minutes. 



It was shown in Bulletin 942, United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, pages 12-13, that the average period of sickness in sheep 

 poisoned by A. galioides was 4 hours and 39 minutes; by A. pumih 

 it was 48 hours; and by A. verticUhta var. geyeri it was 56 hours. 



It is evident that the period of sickness in the A. mexicana cases 

 corresponded fairly well to that found for A. pumila and A. verti- 

 cillata var. geyeri, and like them differed widely from the A. galioides 

 cases. 



In the experiments of Fleming and co-authors (1920) the average 

 duration of sickness in the sheep that recovered, as given in Tables I, 

 II, and III, was 39 hours and 37 minutes, while in the cattle as 

 given in Tables VII and IX it was 34 hours aiul 1 minute. 



AUTOPSY FINDINGS. 



Autopsies were made upon the thi*ee animals that died. 'IVo of 

 the three were bloated. The lungs were congested in all. In 

 two the thymus was congested, and in the third there were petechiie 

 in this organ. Petechiiv were present on the hearts of two. 



