438 
W. J. MARTIN. 
Symptoms of Poisoning .—The symptoms of poisoning, as re¬ 
ported by stock owners, are practically the same for all of the 
species. As observed by Dr. Wilcox and the writer in the case 
of sheep, the most prominent symptoms in the early stages were 
uneasiness, staggering, frothing. The difficulty in the breath¬ 
ing was prominent until death, but the rate became fast and the 
inhalation exceedingly shallow. The later stage was sharply 
distinguished, both from the symptoms of the water hemlock 
and larkspur poisoning, by the almost complete collapse of 
nervous energy, the animals often lying on the side, apparently 
dead, for many hours. The pulse remains nearly normal 
throughout, the functions of the brain are not much impaired, 
and there is little disturbance in the digestive system except in 
the cases of very young animals poisoned by the milk of their 
mothers. These lambs frequently die from an acute dysen¬ 
tery within a few hours after sucking. Adult sheep also die 
inside of two or three hours when a considerable quantity of 
the plant is eaten, but they often live from two to three or four 
days when a small quantity is consumed. 
The symptoms in horses and cattle have not been well de¬ 
scribed. Both animals are killed by eating the plants, but 
horses, it is said, are more apt to recover. According to the 
account of a few stockmen, the action seems to be more violent 
in the case of horses- and cattle than in that of sheep, spasms 
being mentioned as a prominent characteristic for both. This 
is also the case with rabbits. 
Effects of poison shown by post-mortem examination of 
sheep which have died from eating death camas reveals, as in 
cases of larkspur poisoning, no important changes in any of the 
internal organs excepting the heart and lungs. These are filled 
with dark, unaerated blood, as is also the case in larkspur pois¬ 
oning. Cases may be easily diagnosed by the character of the 
contents of the stomach, which nearly always contains undi¬ 
gested fragments of the plants eaten. 
Nature of the Poison Contained in the Plant .—The identity 
of the toxic substance in the various species of poison camas has 
