6 
Colorado Experiment Station 
that the driving' of animals to places where there are but few poisonous 
plants is dangerous under conditions already mentioned, but never¬ 
theless, much may be accomplished in preventing heavy losses by 
herding animals entirely, away from poison weed areas. 
Considering the immense area of grazing lands in the state, 
and the wide distribution of poisonous plants, their eradication, save 
in pastures or in certain restricted districts, seems like a hopeless 
undertaking. Plants that tend to grow more in patches, like the 
woody aster, monkshood, death camas and false hellebore, promise 
more in the way of extermination by the use of the erub hoe, than 
do loco, larkspur and lupine, which are more wiclelv di«;tributed. 
One instance came under observation in which all the loro weeds 
on a section of land, under fence, were removed by digging, and 
three years later the pasture was apparently as badly infested with 
loco weeds as before, much to the discouragement of the owner. The 
displacement of noxious weeds and poisonous plants by aggressive 
forage plants, has received some attention by the Montana Experi¬ 
ment Station and the Forestry Service. For this purpose, the smooth 
brome grass and the western wheat grass, or “bluejoint,” have been 
considered the most promising. It will require several years at least 
and much patient endeavor to form a sod with smooth brome grass, 
sufficiently thick to replace larkspur, camas and loco weeds, which 
are indigenous and very persistent. The prospect for eradicating 
poisonous plants by this means is not very encouraging. 
ALGAE: GREEN SCUM, GREEN SLIME, WATER MOSS 
The algae are simple plants that do not bear leaves, stems, roots, 
and flowers. Their methods of reproduction are comparativel> 
simple. They are common the world over, living in the water or 
in very moist situations. The green scum or slime so frequently 
observed upon the surface of pools, stagnant ponds, reservoirs, 
ditches, and streams is a growth of algae. Algae also sometimes 
form heavy growths at the bottom of the water, frequently being at¬ 
tached to stones, sticks, and mud. They are also commonly found 
in tanks and water troughs, and, in such places, may not only stop 
up inlet and outlet pipes, but render the water objectionable to 
stock, especially when decay sets in. Decayed algae have a peculiar 
pig-pen odor. 
The common algae found in fresh waters are either blue-grpen 
or green in color. Many that occur in the salt water of the ocean 
are brown or red in color. When the green algae, the forms with 
which we are most familiar, begin to decay, they may change to brown 
or reddish-brown. 
The individuals of some kinds of algae are microscopic, but 
when found in mass give a distinct color to the water in which they 
live. Small pools of water may become greenish in warm weather, 
and on inspection with the unaided eye one is not able to see the or- 
