HOW GOLDEN-RODS MAY BECOME POISONOUS. 
7 
ers throughout the country have come to the conclusion 
that the cases of poisoning observed by them have been 
caused by golden-rods, the belief appears justified that they 
are either directly or indirectly poisonous. There is no evi¬ 
dence whatever that they are so directly, that is without ref¬ 
erence to the parasites which they may bear. Of the seventy- 
five or more species in this country only one, 5 . odora, has 
been recognized as possessing physiological properties, and 
these only of a mildly stimulating character, due to its vola¬ 
tile oil, which has been administered in doses of 5 to 15 min¬ 
ims. As it is present in the ratio of only about one per cent, 
it would require a large amount of the plant to constitute an 
excessive dose. The plant was moreover extensively used 
by the aborigines for preparing a pleasant beverage, owing 
to its anise-like flavor. As it is a plant of the forest, or other 
shaded locations, it could not have been the active agent in 
the sunny pastures where these cases of poisoning have oc¬ 
curred. Finally, it is to be noted that the symptoms are not 
the result of over-stimulation, as would result from an exces¬ 
sive dose of a volatile oil, but those of a progressive blunting 
of the intellectual and spinal centres and a gradual decline of 
the vital powers. There is a decreased supply of blood in 
the extremities. In short, the effects are far more like those 
of ergot poisoning than of any volatile oil. While it is of 
course not absolutely impossible that poisonous properties 
reside in some of the members of the genus, it is in the high¬ 
est degree improbable, and we are forced to the conclusion 
that it is not in the plant itself, but in its parasites that they 
are to be sought. 
It is desirable that those who have found golden-rods to 
cause trouble in their pastures should hereafter observe these 
plants closely and ascertain whether they are in all such 
cases infested with other fungi. It is not difficult to detect. 
It appears upon the surface in the form of bright yellow or 
orange-colored spots of irregular form and size, often causing 
the leaves to become stunted, deformed and curled up. 
Later, if the Darluca develops upon them, these spots will 
show deep purple or blackish discolorations. 
