4 
but sometimes appears to suffer acute pain, causing hirr a 
expend his strength in running wildly from place to plat ., 
pawing and rolling, until he falls, and dies in a few minutes .' 
The plants that were said to cause these symptoms are 
the Astragalus Hornii and Astragalus lentiginosus . Dr. Vasey 
in speaking of the plant says: “The plant submitted to us as 
the one in question was the Oxytropis Lambcrti , a plant T 
the pea family, nearly related to the Astragalus, and also to 
the Lupin. It grows in considerable abundance upon the ele¬ 
vated plains near the mountains, and extends up into the 
mountains to the elevation of 7,000 to 8,000 feet. It is peren¬ 
nial, and grows in small clumps, the leaves’all at the base, and 
sending up a few erect flower-stalks, seldom over afoot, whioh 
have a spike-like raceme of rather showy flowers, varying 
in color from cream to purple. These are succeeded by short, 
stiff, pointed pods, which contain a number of small clover¬ 
like seeds. If the statements above given respecting these 
two or three leguminous plants are substantiated by further 
experiment and observation, it will be interesting to deter¬ 
mine by chemical analysis what is the peculiar poisonous 
principle which they contain. Plants belonging to this natural 
order (. Leguminosce ) have generally been considered as not 
possessing poisonous properties.” The Agricultural Report 
of 1878, page 134, again speaks of the loco and says: “A fur¬ 
ther examination will be made of the plant, and any facts 
concerning it are desired by the department. An examina¬ 
tion of this weed by Miss Catherine M. Watson, of Ann Ar¬ 
bor, Mich., is reported in the American Journal of Pharmacy , 
December, 1878. The plant was obtained from Rosita, Colo¬ 
rado, and she reports the presence in small quantity of an al¬ 
kaloid and a resin. The dried root was taken by way of ex¬ 
periment in four forty-grain doses within one and a half 
hours, with no other perceptible effect than a slight smarting 
of the eyelids and slight colic pains. One and one-half ounces 
of the fluid extract was given to a kitten two months old with 
no perceptible effect.” 
In the Report of 1884, page 123, the symptoms are in sub¬ 
stance again described, and Dr. Vasey says : “After becom¬ 
ing affected, the animal may linger many months, or a year 
or two, but usually dies at last from the effects of the com¬ 
plaint. This diseased condition has been attributed to various 
plants, but mainly to a few which belong to the order Legumi- 
nosar . Of these, two species of Astragalus have been ascer¬ 
tained in California, and in Colorado and New Mexico 
another species of Astragalus ( A . Mollissimus.) and a closely 
related species of Oxytropis are generally charged with the 
