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Show WHERE "LOCO" GROWS j Found as Far North as South ; Dakota and South to Mexico. , I i Weed Is Perennial Plant Usually Growing in Patches on Adobe Soli May be Eliminated by Use of Fenced Pastures. (By C. DWIGHT MARSH.) The word "loco" is of Spanish origin, orig-in, meaning cozy, and has been popularly popu-larly applied for a long term of years to a disease common among horses, cattle, and sheep, the losses of which have at times been very large. In the Great Plains region of the west. While a large number of plants have been called by the name "loco weeds," the ones popularly known as Map Showing Distribution of the "White Loco" Weed. the "purple loco" and "white loco" have been considered as the more probable cause of loco poisoning. The "purple loco" weed is a perennial per-ennial plant growing in patches on adobe soil. In depressions rather than elevated situations. It rarely grows In the abundance which is characteristic charac-teristic of some of the other so-called "loco plants," but It may cover several acre3. This plant is found as far north as South Dakota, as far south as Mexico, and as far west as parts of Arizona. Its eastern limit may be slated as central Kansas and Nebraska Ne-braska and the western part of Oklahoma. Ok-lahoma. In these regions It grows in varying abundance. It blossoms in Colorado about June 1st, but farther south in New Mexico, for instance blossoms are found early in April. The "white loco" Is found much more widely distributed than the purple, pur-ple, extending from the northern to the southern border of the United States, as far east as central Minnesota, Minne-sota, and as far west as western Utah and Arizona, if grows largely on elevations and on sandy soil, and in some places in very great abundance. In parts of Colorado at the time of blossoming the latter part of April large areas are as white as ! B I Map of the United States Showing the Distribution of the "Purple Loco" Weed. though covered with snow, and in ' the more elevated regions of i Montana, Mon-tana, Colorado. and Arizona the ' patches of beautiful flowers are very striking. The purple loco Is eaten mostly by ' horses, while the white loco is eaten by cattle and sheep and as well as by horses, and produces loco disease In all of these animals. These weeds may be eliminated from fenced pastures, and provided the crown of buds is cut off they will not grow from the roots. In some localities much can be accomplished ac-complished in the way of preventing loco poisoning by feeding horse, cattle, cat-tle, and sheep during periods of short feed and by keeping the stock away from infested areas. |