— 23 
Lamberti, If there is a narcotic principle in the plant chem¬ 
ists have failed to find it, and a fluid extract does not possess 
it, and a ton of the plant eaten by an animal ought to contain 
enough of the poisonous properties to destroy an animal. 
“ It is extremely doubtful, even though there might be a 
narcotic agent in the plant, that an animal can reason suffi¬ 
ciently to know that eating this plant would produce narcosis. 
Why they do eat the plant is probably because the plant re¬ 
mains more green and fresh after other plants have dried up, 
and also because of its peculiar taste, perhaps disagreeable 
at first, but soon accustomed to and attractive. 
'‘Whether the disease is the result of mal-nutrition or mal- 
assimilation, I am unable to say. It is reasonable to suppose 
that, as the loco plants remain green throughout the year, 
they would not contain as much nutritious material as other 
leguminous plants. If they do contain the nutritious material 
it is not in a form in which it can be assimilated by the ani¬ 
mal. The reason why horses have fits of delirium or insensibil¬ 
ity may be due to the formation of clots or thrombi in the 
blood-vessels of the brain, as there is a well-known tendency 
to their formation during wasting and debilitating diseases. 
" The general emaciation of the body, the flaccid atonic 
condition of the digestive system, the large amount of serum 
surrounding the brain and in the abdominal cavity, the swol¬ 
len and dropsical condition of dependent parts (from an en¬ 
feebled circulation), and the low temperature of the body, 
all point to the same cause, maL-nutritio 7 i. 
"The diseased condition of the brain gives rise to the pe¬ 
culiar ‘crazy’ symptoms associated with the disease. It is 
well-known that if an animal suffers from degeneration of 
brain tissue, even though the animal^may recover from the 
disease which caused it, it does not recover its normal men¬ 
tal faculties. This may account for the fact that a locoed an¬ 
imal never makes a complete recovery. 
TREATMENT. 
‘‘Prevention, by not allowing animals access to the plant or 
by furnishing suitable food after the pastures have dried up, 
is much better than treatment. If an animal has acquired a 
taste for the plant, it should be placed where it cannot get 
the weed, and fed upon nourishing food. Some good ‘con¬ 
dition powders’ may be given, as the following : 
Sulphate of iron, pulverized.i ounce. 
Gentian root, pulverized.4 ‘‘ 
Ammonia muriate, pulverized.i 
Potassium nitrate, pulverized.i ‘‘ 
