CORNSTALK DISEASE. 49 
fast in their wool and work themselves into the flesh. 
Long-haired shepherd dogs are also troubled in a similar 
way, and when people walk through the grass the fruits 
stick in their clothes and cause discomfort. If eaten by 
stock they work into the tissues of the mouth and throat 
and have even been known to perforate the walls of the 
stomach and intestine. 
The plant is found from Manitoba to British Columbia 
and southward to Mexico. It is perennial, with stems 
three to five feet tall, and with long, narrow 
leaves. The narrow panicles are four -to 
twelve inches in length, twisted below and often bent 
sharply. The base of the dark brown fruit is sharply 
pointed and densely covered with hairs. 
The Plant 
NEEDLE GRASS—Stipa comata Trin., 
is a close relative of Porcupine Grass. and is quite often 
found in prairie hay. Its fruits produce the same effect. 
though to a somewhat less degree. If cut after the fruit 
has fallen it forms good hay. 
CORNSTALK DISEASE. 
In parts of the United States, and to a lesser degree in 
Canada, it is customary to gather the ears from the corn- 
field, leaving the stalks standing. Cornstalk disease in 
certain of such neighbourhoods causes the death of num- 
bers of the cattle allowed to pasture on these stalks. 
Alway and Peters investigated this disease in Ne- 
braska. They obtained statements from 404 people in 
one county who had lost cattle to the number of 1,531 dur- 
ing the seasons of 1906 and 1907. Their information 
indicated that by far the greater number of deaths occur 
during the first month of pasturing, and more than one- 
