Loco Poisoning. Oxytropis Lamberti. 135 



the glosso-pharyngeal, the difficulty of swallowing is a prominent 

 feature, and when the spinal accessory, spasm or paralysis of the 

 neck. In the worst cases death supervenes early, by reason of 

 interference with the respiratory and cardiac functions. 



The treatment of these affections is usually very unsatisfactory, 

 though in meat producing animals it may sometimes be desirable 

 to preserve them in preparation for the butcher. Rest, in hyper- 

 semic cases, cold to the head and purgatives, and in those in which 

 fever is absent, small doses of nerve stimulants (strychnia) and 

 tonics (phosphorus, phosphates, ammonia-sulphate of- copper, 

 zinc sulphate, silver nitrate) may be tried. A course of arsenic 

 and earefuUy regulated electrical stimuli may at times give good 

 results. 



LOCO POISONING. OXYTROPIS I.AMBERTI. ASTRA- 

 GAI.US MOI.I.ISSIMUS. 



Astragalus Hornii : A. Lentiginosus : A. MoUisimus : Oxytropis Lam- 

 berti : O. Multifloris : O. Deflexa : Sophora Serecia : Malvastrum Coccinium : 

 Corydalis Aurea. In dry regions: Cause, a psychosis. Emaciation. Lassi- 

 tude. Impaired sight. Illusions. Vice. Refuses other food. Contradic- 

 tory views. Experiments by Dr. Day. 



The term loco is of Spanish origin and has come to us through 

 the Spanish speaking residents on the cattle raising plains and 

 the Pacific Coast. The word is defined to mean mad, crazy, 

 foolish. It has been applied indiscriminately to a disease in stock 

 manifested by these symptoms, and to a variety of leguminous 

 plants, found growing on the western lands and supposed to cause 

 the disease in question. The plants complained of are Astragalus 

 Hornii, and A. I^entiginosus (Griesbach) in California, A. 

 MoUissimus (Torrey) and Oxytropis I^amberti (Purshiana) in 

 Colorada and New Mexico. Other allied species, and like these 

 found also in the other Rocky Mountain States, Sophora Serecia, 

 Oxytropis Multifloris, O. Deflexa, Malvastrum Coccinum, and 

 Corydalis Aurea var. Occidentalis have been less confidently 

 charged with producing the disease. 



These plants grow on poor, dry, sandy or gravelly soils, and 

 having great power of resisting drouth, are often in fair growth 



