STOCK-POISONING PLANTS OF THE RANGE. 7 
so as to keep them in good condition, and then they are not likely 
to overeat when they come in contact with oak. 
Plate III shows an overgrazed range in the oak belt of the 
Wasatch Mountains. It shows how cattle, when driven by lack of 
other feed, will eat oak leaves and twigs as high as they can reach. 
Figure 3 shows a heifer poisoned by the common scrub oak of Utah, 
and Figure 4 a " shinneried " bull on the plains of western Texas. 
THE GOOSEFOOT FAMILY (CHENOPODIACE^E). 
GREASEWOOD (SARCOBATUS VERMICULATUS) . 
Greasewood (Sarcohatus vermicidatiis) is a well-known plant 
common on the alkaline plains of the West. It is a spiny shrub 
growing from 3 to 9 feet in height, with narrow, fleshy leaves not 
exceeding about 1J 
inches in length. In 
Figure 5 is shown a 
plant, and in Plate VIII 
are shown branches 
with leaA-es and stami- 
nate flowers. 
While greasewood is 
grazed by sheep on the 
winter range with no 
bad effects (as a matter 
of fact the plant forms 
an important element 
in the winter forage), 
there have been, under 
some conditions, severe 
losses of sheep. If very 
hungry animals eat a 
large quantity in a 
short time, fatal results 
may follow. Cases are 
known where several 
hundred have been lost. 
F i g u r e 6 shows a 
sheep which was killed 
by an extract of grease- 
wood. The picture was taken shortly before its death. The poisonous 
effects are produced by the sodium and potassium oxalates in the 
plant. 
THE CROWFOOT FAMILY (RANUNCULACE^E). 
Fig. 5. 
-Greasewood (Sarcohatus vermictilatus) plants 
on the ian.<re. 
LARKSPURS (SPECIES OF DELPHINIUM). 
A great many species of larkspurs grow in the western stock 
ranges, and they are widely distributee! throughout the mountain 
regions which are used for pasturage. These plants when in blos- 
som are very easily recognized by the peculiar form of the flower. 
Before blossoming there are a few plants with which they may be 
confused by a person who is not versed in botany, but it is not 
