8 
Bulletin i 13. 
mediately start for water and are found after death lying adjacent 
to water holes, springs, and accessible streams. In some places the 
springs of purest water have been fenced in, the owner erroneously 
believing the water to have poisoned his stock. For the reasons 
already assigned, the finding of a number of sick or dead animals 
within a few yards of a spring has frequently caused the owner 
to suspect his neighbor of having maliciously placed some violent 
poison in the spring. 
preventive; measures. 
Prevention is better than cure. The all important question 
with the stockmen is how to prevent poisoning. The loss from this 
source, even though it be small, cuts directly into the profits. Reme¬ 
dies, no matter how efficacious, will only save a small percentage of 
them. As previously stated, poisoning is more likely to occur while 
they are being handled, but the aggregate loss will show that the 
great majority are simply found dead near a water hole adjacent 
to a patch of larkspur. There is no such thing as complete immunity 
from poisoning so long as animals are exposed to the weed. If the 
weed could in some way be eradicated, the problem would be solved. 
The possibility of displacing poisonous plants with forage plants has 
led to some experiments along this line by the Montana Experiment 
Station.* The forage plants tried were the smooth brome grass and 
the western wheat grass, or “blue joint.” It will require several 
years to determine finally whether this is possible. 
In the report of Chesnut and Wilcox, on “The Stock Poison¬ 
ing Plants of Montana/’** is found the following: 
The short-awned brome grass (Bromus marginatus Nees), a native 
species, is spreading rapidly in a number of localities in various parts of 
the State. In some places this grass had already displaced all other native 
plants and occupied the ground completely. On a cattle ranch near Au¬ 
gusta it has invaded a timothy meadow and entirely killed out the timothy 
as far as it has spread. This brome grass produces a heavy crop of hay, 
and a few stockmen, having noticed its good properties, are preparing to 
save seed for sowing upon other parts of the ranges. Although work along 
this line extends over only three or four years, the outlooK is promising, 
and it is perhaps not unreasonable to hope that by assisting the distribution 
of the brome grasses, blue joint, and other aggressive forage plants, the 
quantity of poisonous plants upon the range may be appreciably diminished. 
This, however, were it to succeed, would take many years. 
Introducing forage plants to supplant others in their natural habi¬ 
tat, on the millions of acres in Colorado ranges is not sufficiently 
promising to warrant much hope of its consummation in many 
years to come, if ever. 
The feasibility of grubbing out the weeds is worthy of more 
* Bulletins Nos. 15 and 45, Montana Experiment Station. 
** Bulletins Nos. 20 and 24, U. S Department of Agriculture. 
