Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-20
POISONOUS VEGETATION
MYTH AND FACT ABOUT THE DEAD
LY uPAs TREE.
The Mystery of Poison Juices-Im-
munity of Administration Ivy
and Its AntidOte.

From the New York Evening Post
In a shady nook of the bank on the road
side is a sight which is well worth more
| than passing hurried glance. The sloping
ground and the post-and-rail fence along
the top are mass of the most delicate
green foliage, each spray consisting of three
large and glossy leaves. From the mass
rise the flowers of the honeysuckle and the
wild rose, but the leaves of these are hid
den by the greater luxuriance of their COM
panion. dead tree gurmounts the bank
and
Round 1t luxuriant ivy has grown,
And wreathed it with verdure no longer its
own.
| But, hold! we may not gather spray or
a BLOSSOM for the graceful and brilliant
| climber is none other than that dangerous
plant, the poison ivy. You may not touch
or carry with you a single branch of the
| plant, unless you are one Of the fortunate
| 'immuneS.'
DIR. Pafr of Harvard has investigated the
| poison which Rhus toxicodendron or radi-
| cans, thus dtspenses with lavishness equal
| to that of the Italian witch, Tofana. He
| finds it to be non-volatile oil, found in ev-
| cry part of the plant, which cannot be
washed off the skin with water alone. 1t is
| true that remedy has been discovered in
| the form of saturated solution of alco-
| hol, of 80 to IS per cent strength, and sugar
| of lead; and that it's efficacy has been test
ed by the Department of Agriculture; but
| IAN ounce of prevention is better than
| pound of cure" and we had better leave
| the poisoner alone.
1t is strange that some persons should be
| so liable to suffer from merely touching the
plant and others should take hurt from
| handling, even roughly, the wood and foil
| age. Close by me lives a man who will
| undertake to root out poison ivy from the
| fences and orchards, and he makes profit
| out OF his immunity for he earn dou-
| BILE wages at a task which others do not
| care to undertake. Stranger still, there is
| q COW near here which seems to have a
positive liking for the young leaves l got
her owner to drive her to fine group of
| the Ivy. and was astonished to see her
! quietly MUNICH the tender sprays In evident
| preference to the luxuriant grass which
! surrounded it. From careful observations
Of the way in which animals push their
| way through masses of the twining shrub,
1t is manifest that Its pernicious effect is
| confined to the human race. Why this is so
is question to which 1t is not easy even to
surmtse a solution.
| Readers Of the poets may refer us to the
| upas tree, which Is a favorte emblem for
| all that has the most deadly influence; but
such can scarcely know that the tales Of
that native Of Java are a standing monu-
ment to the mendacity of travellers and the
| credulity Of the unscientific mind The
myths that have been circulated about
| Antlarfs tnnoxia, the upas tree, must be
| laid at the door of Dutch surgeon named
foersch He described the tree as growing
| In desert tract with other plant near
1t for the distance Of ten or twelve miles.
| Criminals condemned to die were offered
| the chance of life II they would go and col
lect some OF the poisonous juice Of the tree.
| NOT more than two out Of every twenty of
! those who undertook the task ever return
ed So circumstantial was the story-teller
mat ne stated that he had derived his in
| formation from some Of these survivors,
who said that the ground around the tree
was strewed with the bones of their prede-
| cessors. Nay! such was the virulence of
tne poison that there are no fish in the
| mn
other vermin been seen there; and when
any birds fly so near this tree that the
efiuvia reaches them they fall sacrifice
to the effects Of the poison
But what are the real facts? The upas
tree is found growing in the midst of cot
fee Plantations in Java. 1t is even culti-
v vated IN botanic gardens Birds and lizards
have been seen on its branches. 1t is true
that Its juice Is virulent poison, and that
persons who have got this on their bodies
from climbing the tree for branches and
flowers have suffered intensely 1t is
also fact that this juice when mixed with
other Ingredients furnishes the natives with
poison for their arrows which is equal
IN Its effects to the famous curara, or
wourali. poison Of South America, or to the
tieute arrow poison Of the Malaga archi-
pelago. both of which are the produce Of
young upas trees furnishes a fiber which
can be utilized for the purpose Of making
garments. Unless the fiber is properly pre-
pared. the use Of such garments is very
dangerous, for as soon they are wet
they cling to the skin with such horrib. e
irritation that one is reminded Of the sac
rifcial garment sent by jealous Deianira
to Hercules.
Probably some one will remind US of the
manchineel, or manzanillo. tree of the Wevs
Indies, Venezuela and Panama We may
be told that no grass ever grows under that
poisoner Of the woods; that If you sleep
under it you are a dead man; that If the
rain shed from its leaves falls on your skin
1t viii raise blister and create a sore
| difficult MI
rul the spot with the trumpet flower,
which mercifully grows close at hand Here
again we are in the region Of travellers
myths 1t Is true that the juice is acrid,
that 1t affects some more than others as
in the case Of the poison ivy of North
America. but you have to crush the berry
to obtain the juice. and it is very volatile
There Is. however, danger of another sort
in this tropical plant. The juice, If ap-
Piled to the eye causes temporary blind
ness DR.. Seemann. in his narrative Of the
explorations of H. M. S. Herald, tells how
the ships carpenters were blinded fer sew
cral days from getting the juice in their
eyes while cutting down machineel trees.
1t is all very well, as long as we deal with
the organology OF the vegetable Kingdom.
Cross fertilization, wind fertilization and
insect fertilization can scarcely puzzle US
now: The stings Of the nettle, the spines
: Of the cactus. the prickles of the thistle
may well supply the means OF defense to
their possessors. The hooks Of the sanicle
and the burdock may furnish admirable
+ means for conveying the seeds to distant
regions. We can understand the screw
prcpellers Of the ash and maple; we can see
the reason why such rich stores of food
are granaried in nuts and bulbs; but why
do juices become poisons? Why have we
, opium, nux vomica, wourali and tieute? The
1 question Is as abstruse that of 1.-The gen.
esis Of evil" All that we can say is that
I In the treasury of knowledge ruled so con-
! stitutionaly by evolution there are caskets
i which our present bunch of keys will not
open. Who will suggest an 'open sesame?'