- t Ifo kj ' OreJ' I ' 'X/O 4'^ U'bO* 1 or ^Jp nC >. Cof>^ / 16 X / OREGON AGRICULTURAL A I’lant that IX)isoa« Cattle. Cl CUT A ( C tent a J'd^a /rs C, rceti. 1 By U. P. HEDRICK. The Bulletins of this Station are sent free to all residents of Oregon who request them. A(iRreULrrUAL coLLiidi: Pi g ori'ici'. G. n. KI'.ADV, I’KIND'.K. 1897. BOARD OF REGENTS. /. T. APPERSON, President, . Oregon City, IV. E. VA TES, Secretary, Corvallis, J. K. WEATHERFORD, Treasurer, . Albany. WM. P. LORD, Governor, . Salem. //. R. KINCAID, Secretary of State . Saler G. M. IRWIN, Supt. Public Instruction, . Saley WM. M. HILLEARY, Master State Grange, . Turner T. W. DAVENPORT, . Silvertor W. P. KEADY, ... Portion WALLIS NASH, . Portion . BENTON KILL IN, . Portion /ONAS M. CHURCH, . La Grand- SAMUEL HUGHES, . Forest Grove COIVlIVlITTEES. EXECUTIVE. SAMUEL HUGHES, Chairman, IV. E. YATES, Secretary. J. T. AEPERSON, WILLIAM M HILLEARY, BENTON KILLIN. FINANCE. RENTON KILLIN, WM. M. HILLEARY, J. M. CHURCH. AGRICULTURE AND CHEMISTRY. BENTON KILLIn, WILLIAM M. HILLEARY HORTICULTURE AND ENTOMOLOGY. 'SAMUEL HUGHES, J. K. WEATHERFORD. MECHANICS AND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY. t. K WEATHERFORD. SAMUEL HUGHES, WALLIS NASH LITERARY DEPARTMENT AND LIBRARY. WALLIS NASH, T. W. DAVENPORT ADVERTISING AND PRINTING. W. P. KLADY, W. E. YATES. BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. W. E YA TES, ' J. M. CHURCH. FARMERS’ INSTITUTES. L K. WEATHERFORD, W.E. YATES OFFICERS OF THE STATION. THOMAS M. GATCH, A. M., Ph. D . President and Director. //. T, FRENCH, M. S., . Agriculturist. G. W. SHAW, Ph. D., . Chemist. U. P. HEDRICK, M. S., . Horticulturist and Botanist. A. B. CORDLEY, B. S., . . Entomologist. W- “ ■-' h,^ ■'■ ! (.•t''."ig^:’ ' .(iN* ■ a'« 4 :“ 7 i di!;. .• ^ - •^ 'hm* 'i* .Vi , . f *. *.:l?r''i a.' •* . ;.T^“ •V '. -TV i m.-' V-;;•■/•, y- ^■V\ ■' . ' ^ 7 ; ^ 4 ' • ^i' • • • /•• , f Ki /•///* /*• M '■*' •. -^ ?: t' VT ?t .^'> Rji.i I I ^■Vt' 9 - • ^ \ •• * i,'" - 'I - ■■ ^•„ - w-«> . ■ ■■ fciA '-•■ V • ■ ;. ,.A >* • t ,*^. »' ^• • ' yfsft r '' >'.t ( '■^'.’'nSijt •■'*' j . ^ . iw r.' ■ k. iJS-M- • V.* ^ r^-' ■ -‘j. '.a 'V . ' ''J'’,r •« •- y T ’ I '.AiT- ' 'iT .^ - -> 4“ ''i.' '''■ ■< JI h '-1 ■ ^ :. - .1/' Lft ■" ■-' •>-*.^=^r . -'® M ’■ .v^-:'., w.. ' .ifc iA ; ' .■ f" ' . \:’i‘ . ■; s.vir .\ ■ ■^■'' <» . \->w j* - , * ^ T^wTfl- i,y-^'; •- ,< F# ' • ■"*^1 ' .'iP/K '^' Sf- '■ *' ■*: ^-yhAi f.v I' ■ ‘WTr;.,. , , r,- '!; iv. :f’-- 7 i 7 : .*'>‘■ '■ ■■ ■ 'ir^' '^- ';*v 5 '* eHE£li_.,--, '■*'. vi . ' ■!■ v'. •■'^ V®' Sifts- mm o -. ' 'jri& ■ ' -- vii’'''fijfi ■ If , ,,., .'' ., , :' .v^ ^ > ,'#' - -'v , 7 i] '' n ielonging to the Parsnip family, closely related to Cicuta, and generally found growing with it, and often .suspected as 1)eing poisonous, were fed and proved to be harmle.ss. Thi.s, and a more thorough investigation of the properties of Cicuta, .seem to indicate, con¬ clusively, that the latter is the plant that poi.sons cattle. Before attempting a further di.scussion of the plant in ques¬ tion, it may lx? .said that its de.scription for popular identification, i.s attended with many difficulties ; for it belongs to a family, many of whose members are .so nearly alike in appearance and habits that a skilled botanist can identify .some .species only by minute differences in plant structure. I must, therefore, in ni}’- de.scription, enter into details that might .seem unnecessary to one not appri.sed of the difficulties to overcome. But, by the aid of the plate.s, made from photographs, and the de.scriptions of plants that might be mistaken for Cicuta, the av’erage reader should have but little difficult}’ in identifying the plant in queston. Name. The name, Cicuta vaga}is Greene, was given by Profes.sor Ivlwin L. (Treene, now of the Catholic University, Washington, 1 ). C., in 1889.^' Prevdously, it had been con.sidered as identical with Cicuta maciilata Linn, the Ivistern species of this genus. In all text-books, applicable to the Pacific Coast, the plant i.s yet called C. laacafata, but botanists have ado])ted the name given by (ireene. In the matter of common names there is much confusion regarding thi.s, as of many plants in the Parsnip family. The Cicutas are known in the various localities in which they are found by a number of common names. (Lay, our best author¬ ity, alone, gives five po])ular names to the common Cicuta. as -Pittoiiia, Vol II, Tart 7. Dec. 1SS9. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/plantthatpoisons46hedr lU’I.HSOR ROOT-STALKS Ol- CICTTA. Cicuta va^ food stored awa)’ during one or more years of immature exist-' ence. The reservoir for this supply isthebu-ll>like underground stem. A.fter flowering,- plant and root die, but while the flower is developing, the crown of the root, or underground stem,- sends out one or nK)re large buds, which, before the flowering stalk is- dead, have formed roots of their own and are ready to produce a new plant. These buds sometimes require one, and sometimes two seasons for full growth. From the above it will be seen that fhe life limit of the species is intermediate between that of a biennial and a perennial. In growth, as tire plant reaches maturity, it becomes stout and scraggly, very often covering an area of five or six feet. Before reaching the fruiting season, the underground stem and roots become exhausted and begin to decay, the plant at this time being sustained and supported by tough, fibrous roots springing from a point where the leaves break from the under¬ ground stem. These roots are called acce.ssory roots. At this period the young offsets are being formed. Distribution, « Cictita fs found,- in Oregon, in marshy or wet places both on the seashore and in the mountains. It is of most frequent occufrence along the banks of coast rivers and inlets, but is reported as being quite common about the lakes of Southern and South-P)astern Oregon. It is so plentiful throughout all of Western Oregon, that it is dangerous to cattle, during the springy in uncultivated, marshy, pasture land. Cicuta is also found in abundance in Northern California, in Washington, and in British Columbia. Other semi-acjuatic plants of the Parsnip family, are often foimci 'grownr^ w'ltli Oie Clcu'ta, wlncli lo the difficulty of recognizing it and givCvS the others, most of which are harmless, a bad reputation. It is safe to say that ru' ■other plant in this family need lx; feared in OregK^m pastures at tlie ti-nie whe-n Cicnta is dangerous, vi^.. from January to May, Damage Done by Gicuta. It is hard to estimate the number of cattle killed yearly in Oregon by eating Cicnta. One hundred would be a low estimate in judgment. Animals eat the underground p>ortioii of Cicnta in getting the tops which form about the first green herbage in early spring; as they browse the foliage., the roots, being only partly subterranean, and growing in a soft soil, are pulled up and eaten. A piece the size of a walnut, it was found b^’^ experiment, is sufficient to kill a cow. It is probable that the poisonous constituent is found only in the underground stem and the roots. While the victims of the plant are chiefiy cattle, yet they are not exclusively so. The poi.soiious parts are often mistaken for Parsnips, Artichokes and Horse-radish, and thus human victims are not infrequent. A number of cases of poisoning from Cicnta are annually reported in the United vStates. A writer in a local paper a few months ago, reported the case of two cattlemen in Southern Oregon, who, after eating “Wild Parsnip," presumably Cicnta, died in a few hours, Falk reports, that in Europe, in thirt\'-one cases of poisoning from Cicnta, 45 per cent died. Symptoms of Poisoning, and Remedies. Soon after receiving a quantity of the Cicnta bulbs from Mr. Harrison of Waldport, as before mentioned, it was decided to try their effects upon a cow, in order that a more direct knowledge of the action of the poison might be obtained. The following is the de.scription of the behavior of two animals to which was fed the Cicnta,—the notes having been taken by Professor H. T. French, the Station Agriculturist, « “ A bulb was cut into small pieces, mixed with a carrot cut up in the same way, and fed to a two-year old grade heifer. The material was fed at 8 o’clock, a. ni., and at 9:30 the animal was dead. The poison performed its work so quickly, that we were unable to be present at the moment death occurred. The animal s evidentl}' died iii a spasm, froth and foam having escaped from its mouth in considerable quantities. “On post-mortem examination, ])ieces of the root were found in the rumen, and in the reticulum or second stomach. None was found be3a)nd the .second stomach. It was somewhat sur¬ prising to find not more than two drams of the root in the stom¬ ach. A very small |X)rlion might have pas.sed beyond recogni- s tion b}’ mastication, but a careful examination was made resulting iti the finding of the above amount. From the amount left in the feed-box it was evident that only a very small portion had been eaten, “ The lungs were highly congested, otherwise there were no abnormal conditions noticed in the abdominal or thoracic cavities, “ The following day another animal was fed the poisonous roots in order that an attempt might be made to counteract the effect of the poison with an antidote. “A calf one year old was .selected for the experiment. The temperature of the animal was taken in the evening and morn¬ ing preceding the experiment. The normal was found to be [02^/2 degrees. “Two bulbs the size of an egg were cut and mixed with car¬ rots, and a little grain sprinkled over the roots. The material was eaten under protest in order to get the grain and carrots. “The roots were fed at 9:15, a. m.; at 9:40 the temperature was 103, and the mu.scles about the nose began to twitch. At ro o’clock the temperature had ri.sen to 103)4, and the animal was a little unea.sy. At 10:25 the temperature was 104, and there was a trembling about the flanks. The eyes watered very freely ; at 10:35 animal was somewhat excited, and the temperature was io 4 ) 4 - At this time urination began and con¬ tinued very freely until death ensued. At 10:45 animal fell over on its .side in a spasm. The eyes were drawn and the muscles were rigid and contracted violently. The animal fell backward rather than sideways, and when })art way down rolled on its side. “As soon as possible it was given an ounce of spirits of turpentine in a quart of milk, and immediately the calf re¬ covered its feet and began to walk about, though with difficulty ; its limbs were stiff and it walked with a straddling gait. At Oi'inxudic saruu'iilosa Null. 9 iO'.55 "tire leinperaUirtf stood at and |)erspirati(/n was Itiowing very freely. The respirations were hurried l)eing about double the usual number per minute ; soon there were indications of severe spasms. The dose of turpentine and milk was repeated and the animal stood up till 11:30. when it went down as before. A full dose of tincture of aconite with a quart of milk was given, but no results were noticed ; immediately after a hypodermic injection of nitro-glycerin was made, but with no results. The spasms were almost continuous from the time the animal fell over until death took place at it:45, just two and one-half hours from the time the poison was adminis¬ tered. The highest temperature reached was 106 degrees.” The cattle were fed, as above described, in March. During the next few weeks a number of ” sure ” remedies were recom¬ mended. The most common of the.se are lard, bacon grease, milk, and flour. The milk had proved to hi worthless in the first experiments, but to satisfy ourseK^es regarding the other named remedies, and to try some of a more medicinal nature, another animal, early in May, was fed .several of the poisonous bulbs. The bulbs were of the same lot used in the first experi' ments, but had been growing for a month in a green house. It < was expected that growth would remove some of the dangerous properties of the bulbs, but it was a surprise to find that an animal eating many times as much of them as had killed the cows in the previous experiment suflered no ill effects whatever. The conclusion is obvious; the bulbs are only dangeroush^ poison when in the dormant state, or for a short time after growth be¬ gins in the spring. Cattle are likely, then, to be poisoned only from the first of January to the middle of May. It is probable that the simple remedies, as lard, bacon grease' flour, and milk, so highh‘ recommended b}' stockmen, in the milder cases, are of value, as they are substances which would tend to retard the absorption of the poison in the stomach, and, given in sufficient quantities, would act as a [)urgative to expel it from the intestines. But it is mv opinon that none of these would be of avail with an animal that had swallowed even a small quantity, a few drams, of the bulb when the poi.son is most virulent. Further investigation may dev^elop some agent more potent as a remedy but until then, farmers must depend upon prevention —keepi'ii'^ their cattle from pasture lands ConfafrrrKg: i'icnta. Eradication. An effort should be make to eradicate Cicuta completelv ffoiu all enclosed pistures. Cultivation will soon ex:terminate it from fields that can be tilled. In other pasture lands^ the plant once recog"nized^ can be eradicated during' spring and summer by going ov’er the field with a sharp hoe, spade, or shovel^ and chop¬ ping out the roots, a thing easily done ; or, better stilly while- the ground is soft in the early spring, just after the plants begin to grow, they may l>e pulled out by hand thus securing complete extirpation. In most j^yastnres Cicuta occurs but sparingly and to detect it will require close observation. The bulbs can be readily destroyed by exposing them to the direct action of the elements—sun. frost, and wind, so that an occasional plowing is- effective in getting rid of the plant. Related Plants Likely to be Mistaken for Cicuta. Two plants clo.sely related to Cicuta are often mistaken for it. and, since b’oth are more plentiful than the Cicuta^ cause those upon who.se premises they grow, much uneasiness. A careful comparison of the description of the plants here given aided b}" the plate.s, will enable farmers to easil}^ distingnfsh these m-ore common and harmless plants from the Cicuta. Tire fir.st of these t)laiits is :— WiLO Celhrv. iOotanthe sarutentasa x^utt.)—^^Wild Celery is well .shown in Plate III. A compari.son of the parts of the plant in the plate with those of Cicuta on Plates I and IT s-hows that the leaves and leaflets are much smaller^ the stems weaker and I'idged, that there are bracts or leaflets, called involucres, tinder the flovvers ; and that the root stocks or hdbs, are veiy ntuch differcMt, in bein^ smaller, less etosely attached to the plant., and of a different shape, Tire plant is more aquatic inhabit than the Cicuta: growing uearl}' always in water, often in running water Wild Celery ts smaller than the Cicuta. growing only from 2 to 5 feet high. Its thick, .aromatic roots have the .smell of Celery, instead of the Par.snip as has Cicuta, and the base of the leaf .stems much re.semble those of small Celery .stems. The plant is edible and is much relished by the Indians, and i.s not unac¬ ceptable to a hungry Wdiite Man. PL(ATI^ IV. SWI^I^r CIQI^IyY. Glycostna antbigumn Gray, II Sweet Cicely. {Glycosma ambiguiwi Gray.)—Sweet Cicely, the second plant that farmers commonly mistake for Cicnta, is shown in Plate IV, and a comparison of this plate with the preceding ones will make plain the differences. It may ))e easily distinguished from Cicuta by the root, its smaller size, its smell of Cicely or Anise instead of Parsnip, and the fact that It is common in dry lands as well as in marsh lands. Sweet Cicelv is harmless. There are other plants which as closeh^ resemble the Cicuta as tlie two described above, but they are not common in pastures and are not to my knowledge suspected of being poisonous. Wild Celery and Sweet Cicely have been frequently brought to the vStation as “ the plants that poison cattle.” Poison Hemlock. {Conium maculatum Linn) has been sparingl}^ introduced in waste places in the neighborhood of the older settlements, but it is not dangerous in pastures as its herbage i comes at a time when good pasturage is plentiful and, moreover,’ its leaves exhale a sickly, disagreeable odor which repels all animals. Its smaller size, white fusiform root, foliage spotted with purple, and later appearance, easily distinguish it from Cicuta. REVIEW. I. Cicuta, a plant of the Parsnip family, growing in the low, pasture lands of Oregon, in late winter and early spring, poisons catttle. 2. The following plants, reported poisonous, were fed to cat¬ tle without ill effects : Larkspur, Camass, Sanicle, degenerated cultivated Parsnip, and Cow Parsnip. 3. Common names are inaccurate, and the plant in ques ¬ tion should be called Cicuta, to avoid confusion. Locally, Cicuta is often known as, Wild Parsnip, Water Hemlock, Musquash Root, Cow Bane, Water Parsnip, Muskrat Weed, and Snake Root. 4. Cicuta is a tall, smooth, coarse, marsh perennial ; the stems come from a bulb-like, underground stem ; the leaves are from 2 to 3 feet long and have from 4 to 6 pairs of lance-shaped, coarsely-toothed leaflets ; the plant blooms in midsummer and bears an umbel of white flowers which form small kidney-shaped. 12 ribbed, aromatic fruits. The i{}ide)]fi?-ouiid root-stock is the most distinctive part of the pla}it and ivitl aid most in identidication. 5 Cicuta is found throughout Oregon, Washington, Northern California, and British Columbia. It is of most frequent occurrence along banks of coast ri\'ers and inlets. 6. It is estimated that about loo cattle are killed annually ill Oregon by eating Cicuta. Human victims of Cicuta are not infrequent in the United vStates. 7. After eating the Cicuta roots death takes place, com¬ monly, in a few hours. The symptoms of poisoning are uneasi¬ ness, twitching about nose and mouth, trembling of the flanks, watery eyes, much perspiration, high temperature, continued urination, and finally violent spasms which end in death. 8. As a remedy, stockmen recommend, lard, bacon grease, milk, and flour ; these, by absorbing the poison, and acting as a purgative may be of avail in mild cases. 9. Cicuta should be eradicated from enclosed pastures by cultivation, cutting out, or pulling up. 10. Two common plants of the same family, Wild Celery and Sweet Cicely, are often mistaken for Cicuta. f