STOCK-POISONING PLANTS OF THE RANGE. 1 ee 
CICUTA (WATER HEMLOCK). 
The most poisonous of all the plants in the United States is, without 
any doubt, the Cicuta, which is most commonly known throughout 
the West as “parsnip”; sometimes as “water hemlock.”’ There are 
several species of Cicuta recognized by our botanists, but they are 
very closely allied, and for the purpose of stockmen the description 
of one will serve for all. Plates XIII and XIV are of the Cicuta, 
which is common on the Pacific slope. 
Cicuta is an umbelliferous plant growing in swamps and damp 
valleys and frequently very abundantly along irrigating ditches. A 
large number of umbelliferous plants occur in these localities, and it 
is difficult for the nonbotanical person to distinguish Cicuta from other 
similar nonpoisonous plants. Probably the easiest way to distin- 
guish the plant is by an examination of the rootstock. The Cicuta 
srows from a rootstock to which are attached roots which may be 
small, as shown in Plate XIV, or may take the form of a group of 
thick, fleshy tubers. In longitudinal section this rootstock shows 
more or less distinctly a number of transverse chambers, as shown 
in Plate XIV. By this peculiarity of structure Cicuta can be dis- 
tinguished from most plants growing in places where it is likely to 
be found. 3 
POISONING BY CICUTA. 
It has been commonly thought that the tops of Cicuta when found 
in hay caused the loss of stock, but experimental work of the 
department has shown quite conclusively that the tops and seeds 
never occasion losses. The rootstock, however, is violently poisonous, 
and a very small quantity of this is sufficient to kill any animal that 
eats it. Probably all animals are susceptible to the effects of this 
plant. The losses of domestic animals are mainly of cattle, which 
either obtain the rootstocks that have been plowed up along irrigat- 
ing ditches or find them along watercourses in mountain valleys where 
they have been washed out by the high water. 
SYMPTOMS, TREATMENT, AND LOSSES. 
_The symptoms of Cicuta poisoning are frothing at the mouth and | 
most violent convulsions, which in a short time ordinarily end in death 
When cattle are severely poisoned the convulsions are so violent 
that it is almost impossible to administer a remedy; in fact, no effec- 
tive remedy is known, and death is almost certain to follow cases of 
severe poisoning by this plant. It frequently happens that human 
beings, especially children, are poisoned by Cicuta, in which case if 
an emetic can be given promptly, so that the stomach is quickly 
emptied, recovery usually takes place. Because of the fact that 
Tuminant animals can not empty the stomach by vomiting, this 
remedy can not be applied to them. 
