The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1897-02-06
Common Poison Plants.
From The Literary Digest.

The department Of agriculture at
Washington Is shortly 70 publish large !
Illustrated report on poisonous plants.
OIL we are told BY the Washington
correspondent Of the Boston Evening
transcript who sends 10 his paper
fSepfember 49, an interesting letter on
the subject. that It Il making original
analyses and tests Of supposed poisonous
plants that are submitted to it. with a
view to accounting for many Of the
mysterious deaths reported ever
summer from eating unknown plants or
roots The correspondent adds some
paragraphs about common poisonous
plants, one or two Of which we quote
below. He says:
The woods. the meadows, and even
the gardens are full Of poisonous plants
which people generally have no
suspicion Of. II was never imagined
/ that the common elder was dangerous
until two yeOrs ago. when five boys
near TarrytOWn, " Y mistOOk some
Of the roOtlsts for sassafras and gnawed
the bark They were all dead within
few hours.
! How many persons are
aware that buttercups are poisonous?
! Yet ie il a fact that these blossoms are
very dangerous. No COW will eat
them, and hence the old notion that the
color of butter was produced by butter
cups must fall ~ the ground. Cows do
not hesitate TO eat hay that contains
dried buttercups, because in that con
ditiOn the flowers are harmless; the
poisonous principle, being volatile, has
%Faliy half of the laurels and
rhOdOdsndrOns are poisonous. Lamb
kin. 80 fatal 70 sheep. Il one Of the
laurels. Trailing aTbutus belongs TO
the same family. but 10 harmless. 4.
The root Of the common kidney bean Is
a powerful narcotic. Comparatively
well known as a dangerous plant is the
iimsOn weed which is often seen by
the roadside, conspicuous by reason of
its big white flowers.
Zone Of the wickedest Of plants il the
water hemlock, which grows rank in
moist places its fieshy roots are agree
able 10 the taste. though fearfully
poisonous they are rendered yet more
dangerous by their resemblance to
parsnips and to the roots Of the esculent
! cicely. found In similar localities.
! The meadow hemlock IL believed to be
the plant that furnished the poison OF
which Socrates partOOk when con-
demned to death it grows in fields by
/ the sea and on mountain tops also,
bearinR large clusters Of tiny white
: flowers the poison causes headache and
! imperfect vision, with loss of power TO
swallow In large doses IL paralyzes the
nerves aud breathing muscles. The
bulbs Of daffodils have been boiled in
{ soup By mistake for leeks, with fatal
! results 10 chew even small bit Of one
Ut the flowers Is perilous. The bark
! and seeds Of the laburnum are both
/ poisonous.
Z Zone Is surprised TO learn that many
! common garden plants are dangerous.
The leaves and stems Of the potato have
! narcotic properties. The berries of the
! potato are extremely poisonous. The
. skin Of old and sprouted potatoes con
= tains specific poison known AZ
9 'solanin. The young and unript
! potatoes which are esteemed such a
q delicacy in spring by people who car
7 afford TO buy them are poisonous raw,
{ but cooking makes them harmless
The flowers of the jonquil, snowdroI
b aud white hyacinth are all bad. The
. narcissus Is particularly deadly tC
H.. chew a small scrap Of one Of the bulbs
u II APP 70 bt ldtal' Whllt wv Juire Va Wv
. leaves Is an emetic The berries of the
g yew have killed many people. Sorre
4 l. somtimes eaten in salads, witt
, distressing results 1t is pretty wei
known nowadays that II is not safe t.
= eat many peach pits or cherry kernels
y ut once.
g We have not space to quote the whole
o Of this indictment Of the common planti
4 and flowers by modern science. Suffice
n & to say that It includes the lobelias
q wild parsuips, lady's slipper. hors'
n chesiuuts. lily Of the valley tsaid to b
u "fearfully poisonous ). jack In the
e pulpit. poke root. autumn croeus' th'
Il leaves and flowers Of the oleander. tn,
. bark Of the catalpn. the m0nkshood