26 



FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



poisonous to stock when eaten. Several such pests have 

 proved very troublesome in the United States, especially 

 in the West, although they are by no means restricted to 

 any one region. 



The Loco Weeds are. the most notorious of the stock- 

 poisoning herbs; they are so-called because the affected 

 animals become " locoed," the Spanish word for crazy. 

 Several species are known, all belonging to the genus 

 Astragalus, of the great family of Legumes or pod-bearing 

 plants. Peas, beans, and vetches are familiar examples of 

 the legume family. Two species of Loco Weeds are the 

 most important : one is called the Woolly Loco Weed ; 

 the other the Stemless Loco Weed. Both are sometimes 

 called Crazy Weed. 



The Woolly Loco Weed is a perennial plant having a 

 general resemblance to a Vetch or 

 Larkspur. Its leaves and stems 

 are covered with silky hairs that 

 give it a silvery effect, and its pur- 

 ple flowers develop into two-celled 

 seed-pods. Leafstalks and flower 

 stalks arise from a short central 

 stem. The plant belongs origi- 

 nally to a wide area in the Great 

 Plains region, between Wyoming 

 and Texas, though especiaUy 

 troublesome in Colorado, Nebraska, 

 and Kansas. In Colorado, it was 

 so destructive that bounties were 

 offered for its destruction. In 

 four years nearly ;^20o,ooo was 

 paid by the state for this purpose. 

 The Stemless Loco Weed has a more slender appearance 



Poison Hemlock 



