Show Death Camas Canlas Gives Shudders To Sheep Men Death earn camas as Just mention ing the name of oC this plant now prominent In foot hills and wetter lands of utah makes some shudder notes Karl Parker extension range management specialist with Utah State Ul University A lot of oC the early spring range in the Uintah Basin is Infected with Death Camas ALTHOUGH cattle and horses are sometimes poisoned by death camas sheep are the most common victims It some some- sometimes times causes serious death loss among sheep on the range he explained Its poisoning symptoms symptoms toms are frothing at the mouth then trembling falling vomit vomit- vomiting ing and sometimes the animal goes Into a coma or a stupor for a day or two and then dies Actually he says death camas camasIs camasis Is poisonous to any animal that eats it and some people mistaking it for wild onion ha have ve suffered the consequences The leaves and bulb somewhat resemble the wild onion except they dont don't have an onion odor and death camas leaves are flat the bulb has a black skin and a spike like duster cluster of white or cream color flowers Howers on a long slender stem extends slightly above the half inch wide bright green leaves MR PARKER points out that death camas does most dam dam- damage age in the foothills mountain ranges and higher desert areas at this time of year The plant plantIs is now young and palatable A little later in the grazing season the tops will begin drying up and the plant becomes unpalatable unpalatable table Defer until then any grazing of rangeland that Is highly infested with death cam cam- camas as the range specialist advises Death comas camas is harder to kill than sagebrush but 90 percent control has been obtained This was accomplished by spraying it along with the sagebrush us us- us using I Ing 3 lbs Ibs of the ester form of D 24 per infested acre when the death camas flowers were In Inthe inthe the bud stage and then making a similar application a second year For many ranchers the most practical measure against death camas Is avoid heavy grazing use of spring range by any class of livestock suggests the Range Specialist To facilitate this he advocates spraying or plow plow- plowing plowing ing big sagebrush and seeding crested crestell wheatgrass for early sprIng pastures |