Kennedy did not state in what season the plant was collected and from what locality it was obtained, but says simply that the plant extract was inactive to a dog, a carnivorous animal, and that therefore the plant is nonpoisonous. He adds that death might be due to the tough fibers and indigestible character of the plant. He overlooks, however, the fact that the plant might vary in its toxicity, and he infers from the experiments on carnivorous animals that these results would hold good for herbivora, yet he does not claim that carnivora become locoed in nature. Kennedy found that the plant lost 80 per cent in weight on drying and that the water extract which represented 30.6 per cent of the powdered and dried plant contained magnesium sulphate and sodium chlorid, tannic acid, gum, coloring matter, an extractive, and a "peculiar organic acid." The ashed plant yielded 20 per cent of ash, consisting of magnesium sulphate, sodium chlorid, alumina, silica, and a trace of iron. "The abundant precipitate produced by the alkaline hydrates, potassium, sodium, and ammonium was found to consist of magnesium hydrate, an abundance of this base being present in the plant." Kennedy also obtained alkaloidal reactions, but failed to isolate the body giving these reactions. In 1889 the investigations were greatly stimulated by the report of Doctor Day,[102] then of the University of Michigan. She claimed that she was able to produce marked physiological symptoms, using both _Astragalus mollissimus_ and _Aragallus lamberti_ in her work. She administered daily 60 to 70 c.c. of a decoction[103] of the plants to kittens, together with abundant milk and other food. She states that in two days-- The kittens became less active, the coat grew rough, appetite for ordinary food diminished and fondness for the "loco" increased, diarrhea came on, and retching and vomiting occasionally occurred. The expression became peculiar and characteristic. Emaciation and the above symptoms progressively increased until the eighteenth day, when periods of convulsive excitement supervened. At times the convulsions were tetanic in character; frothing at the mouth and throwing the head backward as in opisthotonus were marked. At other times the kitten would stand on its hind legs and strike the air with its forepaws, then fall backward and throw itself from side to side. These periods of excitement were followed by perfect quiet, the only apparent sign of life being the respiratory movements. After a short interval of quiet the convulsive movements would recur. These alternate periods of excitement and quiet lasted thirty-six hours, when the posterior extremities became paralyzed, and the kitten died about two hours afterward. There was no apparent loss of consciousness before death.