Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-05-02

said Dr. Marsh Half dozen children
are playing near swamp or stream ;
they feel hungry and eat or the par.
snip-like roots. About half lie and half
recover, in proportion to the quantity
Of poison they have eaten. D" YOU re-
member who. among the an'so IS was
poisoned by hemlock
Fortunately this query recalled the
death Of Socrates, SO graphically de-
scribed by Plato.
THE hemlock which supplied the
drink" said Dr. Marsh, was not the
water hemlock. but is the plant com
monty known az poison hemlock ,botani-
cally conium. The plant is not un-
pearance. having large white umbels.
The leaves are however, different, be-
ing parsley-like. The poison hemlock
should be identified for safety: as it is
far too common on our roadsides. and
it's juices are as deadly today g when
the great philosopher drank of the
fatal cup. Hemlock was q favorite
means of putting criminals to death
in Athens.
mo plant is more sought after by
wanderers into the highways and by
ways about Washington than the
lovely. fragrant wild honeysuckle.
known also as wild azalea and noun
tain rhododendron, which grows plen
tifuliy in all the neighboring wood
lands. Every Sunday about month
hence one will see crowds of mixers
returning with great armruls OF the
beautiful white and pink azalea. For
some reason the tender green foliage
blers as readily as the blossoms do the
bees. Chewing the leaves or sucking
the blossoms should be avoided. The
leaves contain DoiSOn-pruSSlc acid IN
small quantities.
"Of the same family is the handsome.
though more formal mountain laurel.
which follows the wild honeysuckle
and occupies the same naunts. Its great
broad punches of white and pink bios
SONS. with their spotted petals. are as
snowy as the wild honeysuckle. al
though lacking its fragrance. Its thick,
stiff. shiny leaves do not tempt the
nibbler. but 1t is as we'll to know that
they contain the poison. do the
leaves OF their near relation. the wild
honeysuckle
THE lark&nurS have been known 10
be poisonous from the time OF the an
Client Greek and Latin. writer's TO the
present. The pretty purplisr blue
flower which grows in patches here
and there in old, rich soils in the
woods is ranked poisonous plant.
but while unsafe for cattle, is actually
of little danger to human beings. who
would not consume enough of the plant
to be seriously affected. 1t is as well,
however. to refrain from putting it in
the mouth.
Among the common weeds OF this
region the Unison weed Is one of the
poison plants which should be avoided
This large. coarse. rank, ill-smelling
weed. with its graceful. snowy white
blossom. Is far too common in barn
yards. homesteads and even In city lots.
and many cases of children being poi
soned by sucking the blossoms have
been reported to the Department of
Agriculture. The noxious weed should
be moved down or uprooted wherever
possible.
Another common poison weed of the
locality is the poke weed. which grows
in every fence corner of Maryland and
Virginia and loves to creep up near
to dwellings. The pale. fresh-looking
leaves are poisonous, and the purple
blossoms. although eaten by pigeons
and other birds with impunity, are
poisonous to man. Thoreau gives
pleasing description of the fruit Of this
ing words: IT'S cylindrical racemes
of berries of various hues, from green
to dark purple, six or seven inches
long. are gracefully dropping on all
sides; onering repasts for the hirds,
and even the sepals. from which the
birds have picked the berries. are a
brilliant lake red. with crimson fame
like reflections. equal to anything OF
the kind-all on fire with ripeness.
THE greatest number of cases Of hu-
man poisoning reported to US are due
to toadstools being eaten for mush-
rooms"
What may be taken as safety guide
in this connection" was asked
There Is practically no rule which
may be given the casual mushroom
seeker. The botanist can, of course.
tell the difference by certain distinc-
tive features. and the habitual mush-
room hunter knows with fair degree
of certainty the edible species. but l
would advise the utmost caution in
eating the mushroom picked as one
travels unless one knows of surety
that it is the edible variety.
1t might be as well to state now
that chestnuts. even from blighted
trees. contain ne poison. The Depart