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Show Salina Experimental Station Tests Poisonous Stock Plants The May issue of The Producer, the National Livestock Monthly, 1 published at Denver, contains an in-J in-J teresting article written by D. (Bv Burch, editor of the bureau of animal ani-mal industry of the department of agriculture, and gives a comprehensive comprehen-sive report in solving the mysteries of livestock poisoning conducted by Dr. C. D. Marsh and his assistants at the Salina experiment station. The article compiled by Mr. Burch follows : "If you will travel to Salina, Utah, in the south-central part of the state, and then proceed eastward up a winding mountain-canyon road for sixteen and a half miles, you will : see an American flag fluttering in 1 the breeze. At first glance you can ' discern nothing buit a dense grove poisonous, or reported to be poisonous, poison-ous, to livestock. Surrounding the 350 acres of station land, there is a typical open range grazed by sheep, cattle and horses. The elevation is about 8,000 feet above sea-level. Snow remains until about June 1, and flies again in October. This explains ex-plains why the investigators do their intensive experimental field-work during the four months of June, July, Ju-ly, August and September; the rest of the time being spent at Woshing-ton, Woshing-ton, D. C, where thousands of samples sam-ples of animal tissues and plant structures are examined chemically, midroscopically and otherwise. "The station was established and is conducted in response to demands from stockmen for assistance in re-j re-j ducing losses from mysterious caus- es. In the western range country j of aspen trees m inei vicinity, out on ' j closer approach there is a gate, and 'i you learn presently that the flag 'j flies over a federal erperiment sta-' sta-' tion. Operated by the department of ' : agriculture, the Salina experiment J station has for the last ten years ! conducted a series of studies of un-t un-t usual importance to the livestock in-- in-- dustry and the public at large. 1 i "In this obscure place, Dr. C. 5 . Dwight Marsh and a corps of acco--! ciates spend four months each year I conducting experiments with plants 5 per cent annually, with (the mortality mortal-ity of animals irunning over 50 per cent in individual cases. When applied ap-plied to the millions of cattle, sheep and horses on western ranges, the percentages mentioned loom into significant sig-nificant totals. In number of animals, ani-mals, financial investment and food resources involved, the problem has been one of public concern. Nor is it only a matter of immediate loss. I (Continued on Page 5) Unique Experience With ctock Poisons (Continued from Page 1) Rather, the constant danger of future fu-ture losses, and the baffling nature of the cause and prevention, in former for-mer years, added to the hazards of stock-raising. "The forest service was the first branch of the department of agriculture agri-culture to take an active interest in the problem; but, owing to the highly high-ly technical nature of the work, it devolved in time on the bureau of plant industry, and finally was transferred trans-ferred to the bureau of animal industry. in-dustry. The forest service continued to co-operate by furnishing temporary tempor-ary field stations in localities where stock-poisoning problems were most acute. Most of these stations, located locat-ed at various times in Colorado, Nebraska, Ne-braska, Texas and New Mexico, were little more than camps. "The present station near Salina is of more permanent nature, comprising com-prising three substantial frame buildings, besides barn, corrals and pens. One of the buildings is a laboratory, la-boratory, the others containing a kitchen and dining room, an office, md living quarters for the force of about a dozen workers. The forest service furnished the buildings, built ind maintains a telephone line, and aids the work otherwise. The bu-eau bu-eau of plant industry has continued to co-operate by assigning a botan-st botan-st to identify doubtful plants, and therwise render expert service. "Until Dr. Marsh undertook the ;horough investigation of so-called locoed' stock, the cause had been an unsolved problem for fifty years. Parasites and bacteria were suspect-jd, suspect-jd, but after four years of research Or. Marsh proved that the trouble was clue to a family of poisonous plants, now known as loco weeds. Locoed animals were commonly considered con-sidered ruined and worthless. The disease affected their neryous systems, sys-tems, and they became unmanageable, unmanage-able, were unable to find feed, and finally died of starvation. In the face of these discouraging conditions, condi-tions, Dr. Marsh and his co-workers found effective remedies, and proved the possibility of curing both locoed horses and locoed cattle. Weak dos-2s dos-2s of strychnine are the remedy for cattle, and Fowler's solution for horses. In fact, Dr. Marsh cured a badly locoed horse and used it as his saddle-horse for two years. He also took cattle in the last stages of loco-poisoning loco-poisoning and brought them back to marketable condition. "Building on this beginning, the federal investigators determined the poisonous properties of larkspurs, milkweeds, death camas, and numerous numer-ous other plants. The problems involved in-volved scores of tests, since the plants vary in their toxicity for different dif-ferent kinds of animals. The stage of growth is also important in some cases. Species of the same botanical botan-ical family are quite different in their poisonous properties, from which it is apparent that the work calls for constant verification of experiments ex-periments and no end of patience and resourcefulness. "Larkspurs, for instance, are poisonous poi-sonous early in the season, but later are not so dangerous: In Colorado the low larkspus dies about the first of July; so, with the knowledge concerning con-cerning the properties of the plant, stockmen have their riders keep cattle cat-tle away from larkspur patches until after July 1, when the danger ceases. ceas-es. The investigations at the Salina station have shown that most plants retain their poisonous principles after af-ter drying a matter not formerly recognized by stockmen. "Through dealing at first with problems- of special concern to persons per-sons using western ranges, Dr. Marsh and his corps of workers recognize rec-ognize that such work is not limited by geographical boundaries. One of I the more 'recent investigations has! dealt with cases of poisoning by j cockleburs a common weed widely j found in the corn belt and elsewhere, j In its early stage of growth the cocklebur is poisonous to swine andj cattle, contrary to a rather common j belief that the injury is 'caused : merely by irritation of the burs. ! "Other experiments have included; research with plants found in many! different parts of the country. West-; ern sneezeweed has been found to be especially dangerous to sheep, while ; oak-brush poisoning is limited chiefly chief-ly to cattle. Investigations this year have included work with several milkweeds, wild tobacco, St. Johns-wort, Johns-wort, coyotillo', several locos, some! of the death-camas species, and 'sleepy grass.' In a locality in New Mexico the plant last mentioned is reported to put horses and cattle to sleep. "The office at the Salina experiment experi-ment station includes a card catalogue cata-logue of the poisonous-plant literature litera-ture of the world. It contains thousands thou-sands of cards. To keep abreast of the work, it is necessary also to scan or read from 300 to 400 scientific, medical and veterinary periodicals each month, and note current discussions discus-sions on the subject. Australia and South Africa have been active recently re-cently in poisonous-plant investigations, investiga-tions, though farther back most of , such, work Was conducted 'in Geir-I Geir-I many. I "Yet, even with a library devoted I to the literature on the subject, the ' investigators at Salina are obliged ! for the most part to blaze their way through pioneer fields in conducting ' their expei-iments. The principal method used is to fed measured quantities of suspected plants to experimental ex-perimental animals, and to keep very careful records of the effects on temperature, tem-perature, respiration, pulse, gait, appetite, ap-petite, weight and general condition. Different parts of the plants in various var-ious stages of growth are then tried, if preliminary tests indicate they are dangerous. When bacterial infection may be a disturbing factor, the investigators in-vestigators sterilize the plant before it is fed, in the study of suspected poisonous properties., The ,investi-gations ,investi-gations have shown that plant poi sons affeat the glands of aruma.lfl more noticeably than most other parts of the body a matter of considerable con-siderable scientific interest. The experimental animals includ cattle, horses, sheep, swine and poultry. poul-try. In the . laboratory tests, rabbits, rab-bits, guinea-pigs and cats are also used. The station lias on hand most of the time about fifty sheep, thirty cattle and a small supply of horses, pigs and chiqkens. Most of the -animals are:. privately owned bw stockmen in the neighborhood, -h gladly contribute the use of them iu exchange for the privilege of using the government pasture. The investigators inves-tigators take good care of the animals ani-mals and relieve owners of the expense ex-pense of herding them. The station staff likewise keeps records of gains in weight for comparison with individual indi-vidual animals used in the feeding tests. "Occasionally an experimental animal ani-mal succumbs to some poisonous plant. In that case an autopsy la held, and samples of its tissues and organs are taken for microscopio and chemical studies. The government, govern-ment, of course, pays for such animals, ani-mals, but the expense is small compared com-pared with maintaining government-owned government-owned stock the year around. The total mortality of livestock at tha Salina station during the ten years of its operation is less. Dr. Marsh asserts, than the number of animals that sometimes die from plant-poisoning at one time in a single herd. "The force of investigators consists of Dr. Marsh, A. B. Clawson, his assistant, as-sistant, and several young men f.-om an agricultural college who help ui the investigations and also act as laborers. la-borers. Mr. Clawson is a physiologist physiolo-gist and microscopist who has made a special study of the effects of stock-poisoning plants upon animal tissues. "Besides the regular work at the Salina station, a number of incidental inci-dental investigations are in p-ogrtM. One of these relates to the effect of grazing on the growth of poisonous plants. Tests have shown, for instance, in-stance, that restricted grazing will enable the valuable grasses to crowd out sneezeweed, which is poisonous chiefly to sheep.' One plot of ground, ungrazed for nine years, is practically practic-ally free from harmful plants. Stockmen Stock-men are constantly making requests for the services of the federal specialists spe-cialists in diagnosing troubles and finding remedies. So far as time permits, such requests receive personal per-sonal attention; otherwise suitable literature is sent. "The results of the work described are available to stockmen and to the public in more than a score of bulletins bul-letins and circulars, most of which are free, others being obtainable for a few cents. : Public addresses, ir-ticles ir-ticles in livestock journals and, r.oie lately, educational exhibits have dso brought this important side of sti)ok-raising sti)ok-raising before stockmen of the country. coun-try. Yet new problems are constantly con-stantly arising, and the end of ia work is not in sight. But it is g;oinf forward gradually and systematically, systematical-ly, each year bringing about a reduction re-duction of the menace. |