The Mena weekly star., 1918-06-20
BEWARE OF POISON IVY.
This Is the Danger Season For
 Campers.
Berries red-have no dread: Berries white--poisonou sight:


 Berries poisonous sight:
 Leaves three-auicklv fee. This Jingle of the jungle" is per haps more practical than poetical. as it will help the memory in disting- uishing between the poison ivy and non poisonous plants it resembles. At this season people are continually asking
 What is poison ivy7 What does it look like? What is the cure2
 Poison ivy has three leaflets and white berries. The Virginia creeper, which it resembles closely. has five leaflets and purple berries.
 However, 1t has been said that the small greenish flower of the pois- on ivy in early spring is followed by purplish berries in the fall; so that the surest test at all seasons is the difference between the leaves of the poisonous and harmless plants. Another member of the poison ivy family is the poison elder. It is q short or small tree, usually about l2 feet in height. altho sometimes it grows to a height of 30 feet. It is found in swamps and low marshy places. The berries are white.
 The poison of ivy is long lived. Cases are reported of the poison re- rnaining for years in the dead and ] dried stem, flowers and root of the l plant. Eeven the handling of the cordwood to which the vine had at tached itself has resulted in winter poisoning.
 The majority of eases of ivy pois- oning are contracted by campers and gatherers of wild flowers, who touch the poison vine accidently or when they mistake it for the harmless Vir- ginia creeper.
 Cases are reported where persons are so sensitive that they have be- come poisoned by merely the presence of the plant, as though the volatile 1 oil which constitutes the poison, floats thru the air. This theory has often been contradicted. Others appear to be immune and can handle the vine without any ill effects.
 The immediate symptoms of the poisoning are an intense itching. ac- companied by an infiamed appearance of the skin which breaks out into red spots. These spots develop blisters Tn severe cases the blisters are ex- tensive, like those of a severe burn Cases of delirium and even death are reported as the result of the poison ing.
 The best treatment for the poison. ing seems to vary with the person l perhaps due to the differences in tho skins of different persons. A physi- | clan can prescribe best, and to avoid prolonged inconvenience and suffering the poison must be checked at once. A physician. experienced in treat ing poison ivy, can tell best to what treatment a certain skin will respond He will likely insist on the thorough i anu systematic application of his pre- | StftpttbN. kAOWtNCAg III ta1C a uoNtSs cannot be reached as soon as the poisoning Is detected the following prescription. indorsed by the United States Department of Agriculture, may be used:
 "To a weak solution of alcohol-- about 50 to 75 per cent--add powd- cred sugar of lead until no more will be dissolved. The fluid should be rubbed into the affected skin several times day for a few days, or until the poisoning is checked"
 I It should be remembered that the sugar of lead is poisonous if taken in ternally This ia true of the bicloride of mercury tablets which may be bought at drug stores and applied with good effect in cases of ivy pois- oning. The tablets are dissolved ir hot water. The solution is applied aaE.