The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-08-04
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
-~fr.sS ff -sg
THEIR, USES AND THE PLANTS FROM
WHICH THEY ARE OBTAINED. u,
Theories ~ to why Possons Are se-'
cresed In Pla lants-Ptsbing with Pol
sons In Indis-Poisons md Hosps-
taIity In the Orient. l'

creteu j N pIants-Ftsbtng With Fol
sons In Indis-Poisons md Hosps-
taIity In the Orient. lr
1t Is not so very rsny years ago
when the majority OF the afflicted OF
mankind turned instinctively to the
woods and fields for herbs and simpIes
TO cure them OF their Ills. II did not
require much research TO discover that
side by side with plants most bene.
fetal grew many deadly TO man and his
lesser brothers, the animals. 1t Is a
question which character OF plants a
primitive people availed themselves
most OF, for polsons were long consld-
cred convenient and safe means for
dlsposing Of an enemy, and their use
has not yet been abandoned by more
or less savage tribes.
Today the vegetable kingdom Is stiIl
largely depended upon for polsons and
palliatives, medicines and pain killers,
real or imaginary. but the fact Is gen
orally lost sight Of In the bewildering
array OF extracts and tinctures, chem.
lcals and narcotics displayed on tho
apothecaries' shelves In lieu OF the
bundles OF herbs which used to hang
from the ceiling or rafters Of the earlier
shops
A professor OF the College OF Phar-
macy recently reminded n number OF
botanlsts and their friends In "A lee
ture ut the New York Botanical gar
den OF the vegetable poIsons and their
strange uses. Although he talked for
an hour, he had TO regret that the time
wns too brief to more than touch upon
the subject. He began by pointing
out that some plants popularity re-
garded as poisons are not 80, but act
mechanically. Such nre some Of the
western grasses. which kill sheep by
their long, sharp. stout barbed awns,
which pierce the digestive organs and
cause fatal Inflammation. 49,.
In order to be poisonous, the effects
In or upon the body must be chemical
or molecular. Hence, II Is not the
plant body which IL poisonous, but
some chemical constituent within the
cells. Often these substances can be
seen with the microscope, in crystal
line form, In the dried plant tissues.
This IL true of strychnlnc In nux vom-
lea seeds. In other instances the pol
sons cannot be seen, and are very diff
ficult to separate and study.
Students are divided in opinion on
the question, why are poisons pres
ent In plantsT One answers that they
are not there for any purpose; that
they are waste processes, and are
poisonous because such substances
are usually so, and that the plant de-
posits them In leaves. outer bark.
fruits and seeds, until it can get rid
Of them by the falling off or these
declduous parts.
Another view is that during such
time as they remain they are of use
to the plant, and II Is for this reason
that they exist I'm It's body in the form
and with the properties they possess.
The percentage of poison varies with
the stage and development of the plant
or with the season, and such varia'
tlons usually coincide with the need, OF
greater or less protection by the plant.
The poison of the henbaue, for In.
stance. changes it's location from one
part OF the plant to another, accord
ing to its special need of such a safe
guard.
Other substances harmless TO man
are deadly To vegetable germs which
cause the plant 10 decay. They are
usually produced when needed, and
many of them are never brought forth.
otherwise The important medicinal
substance. copaiba, Is stored In the
tree trunks as soon as decay produces
a cavity. 1t tends TO check decay. but
IL powcrless 10 prevent Ii continues
to Increase In quantity. Substances
used by plants for antlscptic purposes
have been utilized by man for the
same purpose, while substances poison
Gus In large amounts have been found
to bring about Improvement In dis
eased conditions In modified and re-
duced doses.
Catching fish with poison Is SO com
mon. among the Indians at least, thst
the fruit of the Cocculus indicus, the
substance oftenest used. Is best known
"a fish berry. Its poisonous constitu-
ent Is picrotorin, which acts In many
ways like strychnlne, but does not AT
feet the wholesomcncss of the fish for
food In tropical America many veg
etable substances containing sapronin
and tannin are used FOR the same pur
pose The sapronln acts somewhat Ike
strychnine, while the tannln is said to
net 10y combining with the free oxygen
I'm the water, compelling the fishes To
como TO the surface for oxygen. In
all these cases the fish are merely In
toxicatod and caused TO founder help
lcssly 20 the surface, where they are
easily caught. Humanity, as whole,
has come 10 look upon poison us a too
cowardly aud lgnoblc weapon for any
class 20 employ. SO convicted criminals
can now eat their meals with safety
and ones enemies feel equally secure
at table. In India, however. poison Is
still an approved weapon of revenge.
and the cattle OF the enemy are the
most common victims.
For such work seed resembling q
small pea, scarlet. with n black eye. Is
usually employed. Locally IL Is called
love pea. or jcqulrity. Properly K Is
known as abrus. The seed Is very
| poisonous II eaten. and much more 81
bf lt gets into the blood through q
/ wound. Its active constituent Is ab
sin, q mixture OF two toyalbumcns