WESTERN SXEEZEWEED AS A POISONOUS PLANT. 29 
and an invasion of great numbers of leucocytes. The serum which 
has become coagulated is in all tissues, pushing the tissue elements 
apart and greatly thickening the walls. It is a portion of this serous 
transudate which was found in the serous coat in the neighborhood 
of the rumino-reticular groove. In these cases, with one exception, 
erythrocytes are not abundant, though vessels just beneath the 
mucosa are distended. 
The leucocytes are very abundant in the submucosa in places 
and are grouped, resembling lymph nodules. These areas may ex- 
tend up through the muscular layers and into the serosa. The 
cells of these areas differ from those of lymph nodules. They are 
apparently more or less degenerated, but on the whole more re- 
semble polymorphonuclear leucocytes than the cells of the lymph 
nodules. The abomasum wall is edematous, and in areas in the mucosa 
is sometimes hemorrhagic. 
Sheep 451, which was given an extract of Helenium Jioopesii in a 
drench, differed from the foregoing in that the point of irritation was 
mainly in the abomasum, colon, and rectum. The walls of these por- 
tionsof the alimentary tract were highly congested, thecongestionbeing 
accompanied by edema and hemorrhage. This condition was most 
pronounced in the mucosa in which layer degenerative changes had 
occurred. The abomasum wall was most thickened and the serum 
w&s more coagulated there than elsewhere. The condition differed 
from that found in the first and second stomachs of the force-fed cases 
in that there was not so marked an invasion with leucocytes; more 
blood was present, and the serum was less coagulated. In this case 
the duodenum and jejunum were quite edematous but not severely 
congested. No sections of the ileum were made, though the autopsy 
report shows it to have been inflamed in portions. 
This inf] animation of portions of the alimentary tract does not 
occur in chronic cases. There may be mild congestion and some 
edema present in the abomasum and ileum, but this is not severe. 
In many places in the digestive tract the erythrocytes of the venous 
blood take the eosin stain much less strongly than those in the neigh- 
boring arteries. This, taken with the finding of degenerated erythro- 
cytes in the veins of the liver, indicates a certain amount of direct 
action of the toxin on the red blood corpuscles. That this is not 
severe in chronic cases has been shown by hemoglobin tests on sick 
as compared with normal sheep. 
Tissues from a number of guinea pigs killed or made sick on extracts 
of HeleitiuTit Jtoopesii were studied and agreed fully with the findings 
on sheep tissues. 
Dugaldin, then, appears to be highly irritant and to be absorbed 
in any portion of the alimentary tract of the ruminant. It is proba- 
