PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

CALIFORNIA ACADEMY

OF

SCIENCES.

ANNUAL MEETING, JANUARY 4TH, 1875.

Vice-President Hewston in the chair.

Fifty members present.

In the absence of the President, the Vice-President read the annual address.

The Corresponding Secretary read his annual report, stating that the correspondence is becoming more extensive and important with the growth of the Academy.

The Recording Secretary submitted a brief report, giving the average attendance at meetings as 31 members, and the total resident membership as 301, and the life membership 78.

The Treasurer's annual report places the balance on hand at $2,958.43.

The Librarian's report gives the number of books in the library at 5,000 volumes, 2,500 of which are bound.

Dr. A. B. Stout, from the committee appointed to gather information sought by the French Acclimatization Society, reported that certain of the questions had been answered by different individuals. The report was accepted, and Dr. Stout was

PROC. CAL. ACAD. SCI., VOL. VI.-1.

requested to forward the material to Consul Breuil, for transmission to the Acclimatizing Society of France.

The reports of the Judges and Inspectors of election were received, signed by J. H. Smythe and Henry Chapman, Judges, and John Currey and J. D. Pierson, Inspectors. They reported the result of the annual election, as follows:

Second Vice-President Henry Gibbons, Sr., in the chair.

Seventeen members present.

Donations to the Museum: The Alaska Commercial Company donated two Aleutian mummies, a complete description of which appeared in the S. F. Chronicle, of January 8th, 1874; Jesse

Walton donated specimen of Liparis pulchellus (?) or mucosus, Ayres; Mr. B. L. Savory, of Tuolumne County, presented, through Mr. Brooks, two specimens of pound pear, one picked from the tree October 1st, 1873, and the other fresh.

The Vice-President stated that General Cobb had signified his intention of depositing in the Museum of the Academy, the articles found in the shell mound at Saucelito.

Dr. Kellogg exhibited plants, and read a paper on California and Colorado Loco Poisons.

California and Colorado “Loco" Poisons.

BY DR. A. KELLOGG.

Dr. Kellogg stated that very many thousands of horses, cattle and sheep had been poisoned by plants, exhibited and accompanied by sketches, called the Rattle Weed, Pompous Pea, Pop Pea, or Menzies' milk, Vetch, (Astragalus Menziesii, Gray) of the vicinity of San Francisco, and also quite widespread over the State. The fact had been known to himself and to the public for the last ten or fifteen years. How long it has been known to the native Californian he was unable to say, but reiterated experience has taught sad lessons to independent observers everywhere. To some, however, the cause of their misfortune still remained a mystery. He had reason to know that there are also other similar causes, of which more would be said hereafter.

The subject had been frequently brought before the Academy, but as no records had hitherto been made, he thought it proper to suggest that much useful information was often thus lost-was glad to add that no such fault could be attributed to Mr. Yale, the present indefatigable Secretary.

This, and some allied forms, have been figured and published here; so that the public are supposed to be somewhat familiar with it.

The plant has much the appearance of Bladder Senna. As no chemical analysis has been made, nor any carefully-noted experiments tried on animals, all we know is the serious results, often obscurely and imperfectly by the farmer, ranchero or herder, and the shepherd.

ported

Horses and cattle in this vicinity, he noticed, would shun it so long as the pasture was good, but as it became bare, and hunger impelled, they would eat it, and became narcotized or intoxicated, stagger, and are unsteady in all their movements, act strangely and stupidly, losing their good “horse sense" or common brute sagacity, in short, acting like a fool; hence the Mexican name, "Loco," given it. At length they become thinner, and cannot be restored to "condition." The brutes get to like the weed more and more, being apparently as infatuated as the Sandwich Islander is for his "Ava," (Macropiper methysticum,) in water, which demoralizes worse than ardent spirits, or the drunkard for his bottle. If only slightly "locoed," the animal, to a great extent, becomes unfit for uses, except the simplest kind, being unreli