660 
SOME POISONOUS PLANTS. 
inches high, with simple undivided leaves, i to 2 inches long, 
and small, yellow pea-like flowers appearing in July. The seed- 
pods are about an inch in length when mature, and are nearly 
black. They are much inflated, and as the walls are stiff and 
thin and very resonant, they make excellent miniature rattles 
when the seeds have become detached from their fastenings in¬ 
side of the pod. The rattle-box is native in low, sandy soils from 
the Atlantic westward to Minnesota and eastern Kansas ; also 
in New Mexico. It is common in Connecticut, New Jersey and 
North Carolina, and in some years is very abundant in bottom 
lands along the valley of the Missouri, in South Dakota and Iowa. 
Poisonous Character .—The poisonous constituent unknown, 
but it resides both in the leaves and in the seeds. Horses, 
and sometimes cattle, are killed by eating grass or meadow hay 
mixed with the plant. They are not poisoned so often by eating 
the plant in the field. Public attention was first called to the 
poisonous nature of rattle-box by Dr. Stalker, of Iowa, who, in 
1884, while investigating the cause of “bottom disease,” then 
prevalent among the horses of Iowa, was led to believe that it 
was mostly if not altogether attributable to this plant. Experi¬ 
ments were made which proved the supposition to be correct. 
Symptoms .—As generally described from accidental cases, 
the symptoms are .much prolonged, death resulting only after 
several weeks or months. There is a general decline of vigor, 
and a gradual loss of flesh, as observed in the case of loco, with 
which this plant is closely related. The rattle-box does not, 
however, appear so often to produce the craziness characteristic 
of loco. 
The percentage of rattle-box in meadow hay will be much 
reduced if the fields are burned over when the seeds mature the 
preceding summer. The growth of perennial grasses will not be 
materially affected thereby. 
DWARF LARKSPUR. 
Delphinium Tricorne Mich. Other Name: Staggerweed {Ohio). Fig. ( 6 .) 
Description .—The genus delphinium, formed by the lark¬ 
spur, is composed of erect herbs, with palmately lobed leaves, 
and an elongated cluster of showy flowers. These are com¬ 
monly blue, and are further characterized by the absence of 
green parts, and the presence of a peculiar spur-like appendage. 
There are over 25 species native to the United States. Few 
have a very wide distribution, but some of the western species 
are extremely abundant in their natural place of growth. They 
have a general reputation of being poisonous to cattle. 
