IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS 178 
tity to calves, may, under certain conditions, be somevimes pois- 
onous or even fatal to them. He killed experimentally three year- 
lings with fresh material of this species by giving each of them 
quantities varying from 414 to 634 pounds; a yearling fed 41% pounds 
in one day became sick but recovered; a yearling fed 914 pounds 
over a period of six days (one-half to 3 pounds per day) showed no 
symptoms of poisoning. 
SECONDARY SPECIES 
Some of our other native western artemisias are worthless, but 
many species have more or less value for forage. Like A. tridentata, 
these are of most value in the fall, especially after frost, in winter, 
and in early spring—as on lambing range. They are, moreover, 
relished especially by sheep, which often seem to have a craving for 
the peculiar bitterness of the foliage, particularly if there is a great 
deal of grass or succulent weed feed on the range. 
Low sagebrush (A. arbuscula), locally known as black sage, is a 
dwarf bush, 6 to 12 inches high, strongly reminiscent of big sage- 
brush (A. tridentata) except that all the parts are in miniature. It 
ranges from Idaho to California, Utah, and Wyoming, between 
elevations of 5,000 and 10,000 feet, and is often common on dry rocky 
slopes and ridges and in open grass associations of the yellow pine, 
aspen, and Engelmann spruce types. Sheep, and to a very limited 
extent cattle, browse this more or less as they are coming onto the 
range in spring and leaving it in the fall, but owing to the relatively 
high altitudinal distribution of the species (typically higher than 
that of A. tridentata) and its relatively small leafage, it is not of 
much range consequence aside from its local abundance. 
Bigelow sagebrush (A. bigelovii), sometimes called slender gray 
sage(brush), of the Southwest, is abundant in some localities and 
is usually regarded as a good spring browse for all classes of live- 
stock but especially relished by sheep. 
California sagebrush (A. californica), known also as hill brush, 
old man sage(brush), and California mugwort, is not known to be 
grazed by range livestock, but is worth careful observation, as it 
seems to possess active chemical properties, being used by Mexicans 
as a household remedy, and Schneider (71S) states that its leaves and 
branches have decided insecticide powers. 
Carruth sagebrush (A. carruthii, syn. A. kansana), sometimes 
called tassel sagebrush, a central, southern, and southwestern semi- 
herbaceous species with delicately dissected foliage, is of good pala- 
tability in winter, and fair or fairly good palatability in spring and 
fall, at least for sheep. It is of especial value in the San Isabel 
Forest region of Colorado and in parts of northern New Mexico, 
where it is often abundant and is taken by all classes of livestock. 
False tarragon (A. dracunculoides, syn. A. aromatica) (fig. 44, 
C, E, F), a widely distributed herbaceous species, is one of the 
commonest and weediest of western artemisias. Ordinarily it is 
regarded as worthless or practically worthless, but there are some 
important exceptions. In southwestern Idaho it is one of the prin- 
cipal sheep forage weeds during the latter part of the season, espe- 
cially after frost, the spiciform inflorescence or fruiting heads being 
particularly acceptable. In portions of the Uinta Mountains sheep 
