FLOWERING PLANTS A\l> PERNS OF [NDIANA. 5S5 



ferent, and there are plants which should be known to every owner 

 of stock, in order that he may guard against them. 



Xot all poisonous plants are injurious when taken internally by 

 stock, as is illustrated by the various species of poisonous sumachs, the 

 foliage of which is eaten by many kinds of stock with impunity and 

 even with considerable relish. Other plants known to be internal 

 poisons are not here considered because they are never, so far as 

 reports go. eaten by stock of any kind. 



Serious effects are often produced in a mechanical way by various 

 plants, as in the case of certain grasses with sharp, barbed awns, in 

 which the awns may work their way into the mouth and throat and 

 cause such intense suffering that the animal must be killed. Other 

 plants operate by clogging up the intestines, by inflaming the tissues 

 of the eyes, the nose or the mouth and intestinal tract, and perhaps by 

 evolving gases which distend the stomach to such an extent that it is 

 impossible for the heart and lungs to perform their functions. As 

 these plants, however, act merely mechanically, containing no poison- 

 ous element, they are not here included. 



A few plants not actually poisonous to stock are included, because 

 when eaten they taint the milk or impart a disagreeable quality to the 

 flesh of the animal. Wild garlic or onion is a familiar example of 

 a plant which taints milk. Stock eat this obnoxious or deleterious 

 vegetation largely because of unfamiliarity with the forms. The odor 

 and taste of plants ordinarily eaten by animals are so varied that it is 

 little wonder that an animal when placed among plants with which 

 it is unfamiliar will make an occasional mistake. Another cause of 

 poisoning is the use of impure or unclean hay. Grass and meadow hay 

 are very likely to contain poisonous plants. While usually rejected 

 by the animal, they may, either because of hunger or similarity in 

 structure, be eaten. As this cause may be removed by intelligence and 

 care, it is only necessary to call attention to it in this connection. 



The problem of establishing the connection between a specific plant 

 and an equally specific instance of stock poisoning is not always a 

 simple one. Very many observations are necessary and the co-opera- 

 tion of the farmer, the veterinarian, the chemist and the botanist will 

 be found needful in most cases. I would be very glad to receive 

 specimens of plants supposed to be poisonous, together with facts 

 touching the conditions under which the poisoning occurred, the 

 symptoms -hown and the kind of stock most likely to be affected. 

 The subject is of such importance that it should be carefully worked 

 in every detail. While the stock losses in Indiana from plant poison- 



