ROOTS AND TUBERS 201 



failed. Danger can be avoided by cutting and shocking the corn and 

 feeding the fodder or the stover after husking. 



Corn smut. — Since cows have been fed as much as 10 lbs. of corn 

 smut daily for considerable periods without harm, it is reasonable to 

 hold that it is not generally dangerous to cattle. 



Loco poisoning. — In Colorado alone a million dollars has been lost 

 annually thru "loco" poisoning, brought on by eating various plants, 

 mostly legumes, which in certain regions may contain barium salts. 

 The trouble is most prevalent in the spring, when the emaciated range 

 animals are forced because of scanty forage to eat plants they would 

 ordinarily reject. 



Castor beans. — Castor beans and castor pomace contain a deadly 

 poison, which may be destroyed by exposing the castor oil cake or the 

 seeds to the air for 5 to 6 days, or by cooking them for 2 hours. 



Miscellaneous poisonous plants. — The common horsetail, water hem- 

 lock, poison hemlock, death camas, several species of larkspur, cockle 

 bur, woody aster, and many other plants are more or less poisonous 

 to stock. However, animals seldom eat poisonous plants unless forced 

 to do so by hunger. When grazing is short, stock should be kept away 

 from areas definitely known to be infested with such plants. 



QUESTIONS 



1. Discuss the uses of roots for stock feeding. 



2. Compare the value and economy of roots and corn silage. 



3. Name the five most important root crops for the North and discuss their 

 value. 



4. Of what value are potatoes for stock? 



5. Name three root crops grown only in the South and state their merits. 



6. State the value and uses of rape for stock. 



7. Discuss the value of three other members of the cabbage family. 



8. What are the uses of sagebrush, saltbush, the greasewoods, and the cacti? 



9. Name some of the plants poisonous to stock. 



