66 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
Is Sheep Laurel Poisonous to Sheep? 
BY DR. THOMAS F. "WOOD, WILMINGTON, N. C. 
This question is still open, unless the experi¬ 
ments here given will determine it. “ Sheep 
Laurel,” “Dwarf Laurel,” “Sheep Kill,” 
“Lamb Kill ,” “Wicky,” are the common 
names of Kalmia angustifolia. It has long 
been under the ban by sheep-raisers as a poi¬ 
sonous shrub, but when I inquired of cattle 
drovers and butchers about their personal ex¬ 
periences, none of them could give me a defi¬ 
nite reply, except the tolerably uniform opin¬ 
ion, that 14 sheep would not eat ‘ Wicky,’ but if 
they did, it would kill them.” The Dwarf 
Kalmia is very abundant all along the South¬ 
ern Coast, and it is therefore a little remark¬ 
able that so little was to be learned from 
those most interested in such matters, as to 
the poisonous quality of the shrub. 
Determined to make some investigations, 
I selected a young sheep in good condition, 
weighing about 23 pounds. He was taken 
from the pasture and domesticated, so that 
he would eat from the children’s hands. He 
was at first confined in a small stable (his 
bedding made of Kalmia), and was over-fed 
by the children, which led to diarrhoea. 
It was necessary in the outset to determine 
if a hungry sheep would voluntarily eat 
Kalmia. After the animal recovered, no 
food was allowed for nearly two days. The 
fresh shrub was then offered him, and put 
within his reach for a day and night. He 
would not touch it. After this, for some 
days he was allowed food sparingly, Kalmia 
being mixed with his hay, but he avoided it, 
eating only the hay. On the 23d of Novem¬ 
ber I made a decoction of a pound of the 
leaves and fruit, boiling it down to a half 
pint. At 3 o’clock, P. M., I gave 2 ozs. of the 
decoction; at 3.30 I repeated the dose; at 4 
o’clock I gave 21 ozs. It was only after this 
last dose that any effects were obvious. The 
sheep struggled against the last dose, and 
finally vomited a considerable amount of 
food, and frothy saliva, stained by the decoc¬ 
tion, stood on his lips. He was now so much 
nauseated that no more was given him until 
7 o’clock, P. M., when 11 oz. was adminis¬ 
tered. At this time his lips were covered 
with frothy saliva. As soon as the last dose 
was poured down his throat, he fell, with 
slight tremor of his legs, and ceased to 
breathe. Presuming this to be the result of 
the drenching, I instituted artificial respira¬ 
tion, and in a few minutes the breathing was 
regular. Nausea and coughing were now 
very bad. At 9 o’clock, P. M., I found the 
animal apparently asleep, but, aroused by 
my approach with a lantern, he arose and 
staggered towards me, but settled down on 
his haunches and fell asleep. Nov. 24th, 8 
o’clock.—Cerebro-spinal symptoms promi¬ 
nent. He can scarcely stand on his feet, 
and when down, falls asleep. 27th.—The 
animal, after several days of desperate ill¬ 
ness, persistent vomiting, inability to stand, 
indisposition for food, has attempted to eat 
to-day, and will fully recover. The shrub 
has proved to be a violent gastric irritant, 
and deeply intoxicating. 
My conclusions are : 1. Kalmia is not eaten 
even sparingly by a hungry sheep. 2. If it 
were possible that a very hungry sheep would 
touch it, it must be in very small quantities, 
and in such quantities—say two or three 
ounces—it would do no harm. 3. Kalmia, if 
given in large enough quantities, ■will cause 
death ; but it seems that the plant is such a 
powerful emetic, that it would be difficult, 
except by special design, to give enough of 
it to cause death. 4. The prominent danger 
from the eating of Kalmia is the effect on 
the brain and spinal cord. Upon the whole, 
there is some foundation for the old tradi¬ 
tion. This is not unlikely when we remem¬ 
ber how morbid the appetite of animals 
sometimes becomes. Death from this cause 
must be uncommon, on account of the re¬ 
pulsive taste of the plant. 
Another Forage Plant.—The Hairy Vetch. 
Nearly every year brings out some plant 
for which great claims are made as to its 
value for forage. The latest novelty of this 
kind appears in Germany as the Hairy Vetch, 
A NEW FODDER PLANT. 
(Vida villosct.) The common Vetch, or Tare 
(F. sativa), has never with us occupied the 
place that it does among the field crops 
of Europe ; the winters are said to be too 
severe for the winter Vetch, and the sum¬ 
mers too hot for the spring variety. The 
new one now offered, i. e., new as a crop 
plant, is a native of Northern Germany, and 
lias the general appearance of the common 
Vetch, but it is very hairy, and produces a 
greater quantity of seeds. The special claim 
made for it, is the readiness with which it 
grows upon the very poorest, most sandy 
soils. On ground so poor that little else will 
grow, this is said to make a dense mass of 
vegetation, and bear abundantly of pods and 
seeds. It is regarded as of great value in 
utilizing and bringing up poor lands. While 
it will grow under these unfavorable cir¬ 
cumstances, it readily responds to better 
treatment, and on good soils grows three feet 
high. It is regarded as of especial value to 
sow with oats, the two plants together giving 
a great weight of most valuable forage. 
The engraving shows the top of a plant 
with flowers and seeds of the natural size. 
No doubt some of our readers who are on 
the lookout for novelties, will in time in¬ 
form us of the probable value of the plant 
in this country. 
Experiments in Keeping Poultry. 
BY P. H. JACOBS, ATLANTIC CO., N. J. 
Arrangements for Feeding* 
Troughs are unnecessary. A long board,, 
with a small block under each end, is suffi¬ 
cient. Distribute the food on this evenly, 
from one end to the other, and as soon as 
the fowls have finished feeding, brush off 
the board, and stand it on end out of the 
way. This insures cleanliness. Water should 
be changed several times a day, and can be 
given in any vessel that will exclude the feet 
of the fowls. The vessels advertised to hold 
“a supply for several days” are excellent, 
but are at times detrimental, as nothing 
should avoid or prevent a frequent change of 
water. Never feed on the ground. Feed 
very early in the morning, and as late in the 
afternoon as possible. In the morning, feed 
finely-chopped grass, radish tops, mustard, or 
any other kind of green food at hand, mixed 
with corn-meal, to which may be added a 
proportion of salt, fine bran, and linseed or 
cotton-seed meal. Mix the corn-meal, etc., 
with water to a stiff dough. In winter, 
good clover-hay may be chopped fine, soaked 
over night, and substituted for green food. 
Meat is always welcomed by fowls. At 
evening, feed hard grains, such as a mixture 
of wheat, corn, and oats, and, if easily ob¬ 
tainable, buckwheat. Have in the yards, 
and easy of access, small boxes containing a, 
mixture of charcoal, sulphur, bones, and 
oyster-shells, broken small; also give a plen¬ 
tiful supply of gravel. In winter, a feeding 
place should be cleared off for the fowls 
when snow is on the ground, and a tempo¬ 
rary shelter, open to the south, will be more 
acceptable to them than the inside of the 
best possible fowl-house, as they are averse 
to staying in quarters. 
Diseases of Poultry. 
The Cholera, or “ Chicken Cholera,” is the 
dreaded enemy that checks progress in poul¬ 
try raising, and I know of no sure cure for 
it, though I have known it to yield when a 
spoonful of meal, saturated with coal-oil, 
was administered twice daily. Cholera never 
appears in cleanly-kept yards and houses, as 
it is born of filth. Lice will disappear from 
fowls by the use of the dust-bath, if the 
quarters are clean. Roup is caused by damp¬ 
ness and cold draughts of air on the fowls 
at night. Warmth, and a teaspoonful of a 
saturated solution of Chlorate of Potash, 
three times daily, is the best remedy for 
Roup. Fowls that moult early begin to 
lay early, and fowls that have fluffy feathers 
under the wings are hardier than those that 
are naked in those parts. 
Profit. 
Twelve dozen eggs is not over the average 
number for a hen in one year, and one dollar 
may be safely estimated as the cost of her 
keep, even when every ounce of her food is 
bought. Besides laying, she should hatch 
and rear for market at least one good brood 
of chicks. The reader can make the calcula- 
