LILY FAMILY. 51 
up by the animals, except when a recent rain has soft- 
ened the ground. Horses and cattle are affected by the 
poison as well as sheep, but they rarely eat enough to 
produce serious results. Soon after flowering the plant 
dries up and in this condition is unattractive to animals. 
The seeds are extremely poisonous and sometimes pro- 
duce trouble when the plant is mixed with hay. 
It has been established that the poisoning is due to 
zygadenin, an alkaloid of which the leaves and bulb con- 
tain about 0.6%, the root half as much and 
the flowers roughly 1.25%. The proportions 
may vary in different localities. The first symptoms 
noticed in sheep are uneasiness and erratic movements 
with laboured irregular breathing. Frothing at the 
mouth, nausea and regurgitation follow, often accom- | 
panied by spasms. In the later stages, if sufficient of 
the plant has been eaten, a complete collapse ensues, the 
animal lying stretched out as if dead, its shallow breath- 
ing scarcely perceptible. Experimental evidence indi- 
cates that death is due to a stoppage of the heart’s action. 
Very little digestive trouble is found in adult sheep, but 
lambs which acquire the poison with their mothers’ milk 
are attacked with enteritis and dysentery, usually dying 
in a few hours. 
Chesnut stated that both horses and cattle. are some- 
: times killed. Pigs are said to eat the bulbs with 
Animals. ; 
‘Affected impunity, and as a result the name “Hog Po- 
tato” has been popularly used for the plant.. 
Various remedies such as soda, salt, lard and fat pork, 
have been recommended and used by stockmen, but with 
unsatisfactory results. A solution of perman- 
ganate of potash and aluminium sulphate gives 
good results at all stages of the poisoning. It is a chemi- 
Symptoms 
Remedies 
