STOCK-POISOXIXG PLANTS OF THE RANGE 



61 



cotyledon stage. Young pigs are especially susceptible to the plant 

 an»l have been lost in great numbers. Figure 29 shows a pig fatally 

 poisoned. While the plant has been shown to be poisonous to sheep, 

 there have been no reports of losses of sheep under range conditions 

 but the burs produce trouble by becoming tangled in the wool and 

 causing a considerable 

 dockage. 



*4: 



V 





Figure 28. — A branch of a common cocklebur. Xanthium 

 it alien in, showing the form of the leaves and fruit 



REMEDIES 



Experimental work 

 has shown that bene- 

 ficial results follow the 

 administration of oils 

 or fats. For this pur- 

 pose linseed oil. ba- 

 con grease, or lard can 

 be used. 



WESTERN' SNEEZEWEED 

 (HELEMUM HOOPESII) 



Western sneezewood. 

 Helen I u in hoopesii, 

 sometimes called yel- 

 lowweed by the stockmen, is found in great abundance on the sheep 

 ranges of the Wasatch Mountains. Utah, especially in localities 

 where the range has been heavily grazed. The plant is distributed 

 in greater or le-s numbers from Wyoming to Xew Mexico and Ari- 

 zona, and as far west as California, but it is in Utah that it has 

 become prominent as a poisonous plant. 



The plant (Pis. 43 

 and 44), is a stout, 

 perennial composite, 

 growing to 2 or 3 feet 

 in height, with thick, 

 deep-green leaves. The 

 ray- of the flower are 

 of an orange color and 

 the disk a brownish 

 orange; the blossom- 

 ing period in the 

 Wasatch Mountains 

 ends the middle or 

 Last of August. Its 

 range in elevation is 

 from 7.000 to 10.500 

 feet. 



Under ordinu r y 

 range conditions the 

 western sneezewood seems to be dangerous to sheep only, although 

 there have been some fairly well-authenticated losses of cattle from 

 this plant. It has been found to be the cause of what is known in 

 Utah as the " spewing sickness " of sheep, from which there have been 

 quite heavy losses. 



Figure 29. — A young pig fatally poisoned by cocklebur. 



The picture was tak.-n shortly before death 



