The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1883-10-20
Poisonous Leaves.

are, says Land and Water, by dangers
which they cannot measure, and can
hardly be blamed for falling into, it is a
wonder rather that they so seldom incur
fatal consequences, than that they
should sometimes eat leaves of an inju-
rious character. The only safe ule for
children to observe is never to eat any
thing that they have not been positively
assured is wholesome by their parents.
No doubt it is an excellent thing that
children should be so well nourished as
to remove to large extent the temp
tation to eat wild leaves. Moreover,
modern gardening has brought into
perfection so many table vegetables
that we are enabled to enlist natural
dislike to the juices of uncultivated
plants on the side of caution, as COM
pared with the pleasantness of the
wholesome green meat of home. But
children sometimes will stray on a ram
BILE, and become hungry when at dis
tance from "shops' or home, and thus
it cannot be useless to know what are
the more dangerous kinds of leaves
which must be avoided by all who wish
to preserve their lives. The strongest
barriers of prohibition we can erect
should be placed to protect the young
from their own heedlessness, which at
times leads them to do all forbidden
things, and to test all maxims and
commandments, disobedience to which
is supposed to entail divers pains and
penalties.
Some of our most admired flowers,
which we should least willingly Danish
from cultivation, are associated with
green leaves Of very poisonous char
acter. The narrow long leaves of the
daffodil act as an irritant poison; the
delicate compound leaves of laburnum
have a narcotic and acrid juice which
causes purging, vomiting, and has not
unfrequently led to death. The narrow
leaves of the meadow saffron or autumn
crocus give rise to the utmost irritation
of the throat, thirst, dilated pupils,
with vomiting and purgiHg. The dam
gerous character Of aconite or monks
hood leaves is doubtless well known,
but each generation of children requires
instruction to avoid above all things
these large palm-shaped leaves, dark
green on the upper surface. The ut
most depression, often blindness, ting.
ling all over the body, parching and
burning of the throat and stomach, are
some of the horrible symptoms which
are preludes to death from this most
deadly of vegetable poisons. Almost
equally desirable is it to avoid the large
ovate leaves to the foxglove. The hear
has been known to be depressed so ex
ceedingly by the action of these leavel
as to beat only seventeen times min
ute, with the pupils of the eyes widely
dilated. In a case of this kind it can
not be too forcibly recollected that the
sufferer should be kept strictly lyine
down, to save the strength of the hear
as much as possible. The leaves of the
pasque-hower and the ranunculus ar,
to be named as being injurious and be
longing to attractive flowers.
Leaves of coarse weeds, however, pro
vide an abundant quota of danger bu
frequently their strong scent and bite
of museous taste give timely warning
against their being consumed. TIL
tall hemlock is everywhere known to b
poisonous, and it is one of the mos
abundant occupants of the hedge.
peculiar "mousy" odor can generally b
recognized on squeezing the leaves
which are deep green in color and trebl
compound, the small lobes being laneec
late and deeply cut. 1t is said that tn
mousy smell can be detected in waite
containing not more than a fifty-thor
sandth part of the juice. Hemlock
both an irritant to any sore place and
general narcotic poison, producing heat
ache, imperfect vision, loss of power t
swallow, and extreme drowsiness, wit
complete paralysis of voluntary muscle
and muscles of respiration. The watt
dropwort, too, fourishing ditch plan
the water hemlock and FOOLS parsle
must be ranked among our most DANCE
Gus poisonous plants lelonging to I'll
1 Umbelliferous order. The fool's-parslt
t leaves are sometimes mistaken for gel
3 uine parsley, but their nauesus ode
3 and darker leaves should prevent thi
a The Nightshade order is another wit
g dangerous and often extremely poisoI
0 GUS leaves. Indeed, no nightshade can
t shade, with its oval, uncut leaves, sof
regarded as safe, while the deadly nigh
= smooth and stalked, is in the highest d
!. gree tobe avoided. Henbane and thor
J, apple conspicuous members of the da
h gerous classes. Holly leaves contain
:, juice which is both narcotic and acri
IS causing vomiting, pain and purgin
IT Even elder leaves and privet leaves M
d produce active and injurious irritati
it when eaten.
d The leaves of the arm or euckoo-pir
IS large, arrow-shaped and glossy, ha
g often caused death. Two are sufficie
" to produce great pain, vomiting, et
TO One of the very disagreeable symptol
is a great swellins-up of the tong
r. from the amount of Irritation; childrel
in tongues especially may become so swc
I'd en- that the swallowing of remedies
th of emetics is very difficult. In such
1 L., ,,4, .e. e.