DANGEROUS PLANTS.

Mataura Ensign, 16 August 1906, Page 4

DANGEROUS PLANTS.

POTSONS THAT GROW IN THE GARDEN.

The foxglove is a favorite plant with j hundreds of thousands of "ardeninpr inthusiasts, yet it does not dearie Hs proud position-, for every porUo'i >".!' it is a deadly poison. Its leaves, :10-a ei'-f, si , .'l;<and berries are all capable of dealing death to incautious cultivators. .Should by any means it.! sap pvl into the blood of a healthy person, it [ r. duces symptoms of heart failure, an.l nna.v, if the person be in a "run do.vn" condition, or the dose of poison thus tuko,\ into il.e blood bo a largo one, havo fatal result*. Foxglove indeed contains a subtle poison, as well as a dangerous ona. For all Us beauty, the lily of Hie valley

is denounced by scientists trn tlio f-i ound that both Us stalks and its flowers contain a poison. It is dangerous t» put the stalks into tlio mouth, as if tlio sap happens to get into the tiniest crack in the lips, it may produce swelling, as well as vomiting, dizziness, and severe pain. Chemical analysis has disclosed that an appreciable quantity of prnssic acid is present in the plant, and it is to this, strange to say, that the lily of the valley's penetrating perfume is attributed. Should the sap of the common marguerite get into a cut, or into the eyes, it will cause intense pain, and in the Inter case temporary blindness. Just as much care is needed in handling the bulbs of the white lioman hyacinth. A kind of "seal.!" conies off on the hands, anil sets up intense irritation, which spreads rapidly. Daffodil poisoning is a very common skin affection in the Scilly Isles and (he South of France, where huge quantities of the popular flower are gathered during the season. The poison is due to minute crysfals of lime, which exist in great numbers in the juice of the daffodil's stems. In the picking of the flowers these are pressed under the finger-nails, when gatherings and painful irritation results. A safe ,>iau before withering the flowers is to pm-.li a little tallow beneath the finger-nails. .'.d to rub (he hands well with oil far -.hi:; prevents the poison fi.om ciilering (ho pores of the skin. The primula obeonica, a Chinese n lalive of (he primvuse family, o!'>ei' to be seen in lirifish greenho'nes, is mi dangerous .1 plant that its cullivaii in shcu'd be rigidly abandoned. From a hunch of green, hair-studded leaves, t ise. one or two slender stems, crowned wiin pa It i.ink blossoms. The latter ore harnihssoiio.igl , but the hairs on the edge of the leaves are minute poison spines. Just reeintiy a woman in Leeds di-.'d as a re-u!t of poisoning, from merely s T..if'lung her we while smelling this pnmi, lo' not Hi;: that medical science could produce could stay the progress ,-f rhe poisi.n. The meadowsweet is ~ harmless-looking flower, yet i!s stems contain j in.-sie r.i-s 1 in sufficient < ( nanlity to nia-ce fersins J violently ill through merely sin< llinj*. 1 them, iferb-paris, which grows iii woods and shady places, >v. : (h lour eveu-<i»ed 1 leaves in a star at 'l.e. fo|> of the -irw, all growing out opposite each othe-, bears 1 a large green solitary flo-.-er, and later-on ■ a bluish-black berry. Fiery part of (lit- ■ plant is poisonous, the be: nes being cspt- : chilly so.

.V.i- is lis- deadly nk'hUiad.; ?•) u.llrd without reason. It may cll"n 1,-. fl . fn Ki'on'iii!; "ii the walls o; old e.umry col. Injjes. H < lin-.vers are liiiw. sinsflo, put pie. bells, mid the berries shiny like lil.u-k cherries. Its loots ;ire computed (o l;o five times more poisonous than its hemes, which, however, cause serious harm to children, who are attracted by (heir attractive appearance to pluck and eat them, tireen hellebore and monkshood are also notorious for their poisonous properties. The columbine, with its blue or white (lowers, which is seen as often in town

gni-dens as in country woods, Ims tin evil name as well, ft has ii toxic principle like Unit of the monkshood, pnr.T.u'lni'l.v in the seeds, while the pretty red berries of the mezci'eon are responsible for the deaths or illness of children almost every autumn. Like cherries in appearance, they are easily picked from the low birdies on which they riw, a dozen lc.ng enough to cause dooth. A common plant, though an unpleasantly-smelling one, is fool's parsley. When its seeds or leaves are drawn through the hand, it leaves an odour behind. Many deaths have b.vn caused by its being cooked mid eaten in

mistake for common ~.irsley. The arum, or euckoo-plant, commonly known among children as "lords and ladies." the black berries of the spurfe laurel, the privet—these are other plants containing dangerous poisons. .In sons pints of the country children )n:d,e a practice of eating the beans i'-mnd in the green pods of the laburnum, and I lie seeds of the yew also. Taken in any 'iiiaiilily, both are virulent, poisons.