Big Ley—Loco 409 
be given, to open the bowels freely ; the kidneys may 
be stimulated by giving an ounce of saltpeter once 
daily for three days. The leg should be bathed with 
hot water for twenty minutes at a time three times 
a day, and thoroughly rubbed until dry; then an oint- 
ment,— two ounces of gum camphor dissolved in eight 
ounces of fresh-melted lard,—should be well rubbed in. 
Iodide of potash, in dram doses, given once daily for 
three days is excellent. Horses subject to this disease 
are said to have “humors in their blood.” The disease 
often resembles farcy. 
LOCO DISEASE 
Loco is a disease attacking horses, cattle and sheep 
in the great plains region, due to the eating of two 
plants, commonly called “loco weeds,” Astragalus mol- 
lissimus and Oxytropis Lambertii, both belonging to 
the natural family Leguminosee. These plants, charaec- 
teristic of the great plains, attain a height of six 
to twelve inches; the leaves are compound; and the 
leaflets and stems are covered with a fine pubescence, 
which gives the plant a gray or silvery appearance. 
Of the two plants, the astragalus is the more common 
in the southern part of the great plains, while the 
oxytropis predominates in the northern region. -Other 
closely related plants are perhaps also called loco plants. 
The name “loco” is from the Spanish, and signifies 
erazy. It takes its name from the fact that animals 
that acquire the habit of eating the plant act as if 
insane or foolish, and they are said to be “locoed.” 
