144 
\ 
U 
Tne fmefl of Hyofcyamus is ftrong and peculiar, and the 
lien bruifed 
what of the odour of tob 
> 
This fmell 
IS 
and on burnlnp- they 
J) 
li 
cw 
flill ftronger when the leaves are burnt : 
fparkle with a deflagration, fomewhat refembUng that of nitre, b 
to the tafte they are mild, and mucilaginous 
erfnl narcotic poifon,* and many inftances of its deleterious efFeds are 
recorded by different authors;'' from which it appears that any part of 
the plant, when taken in fufficient quantity, is capable of prod 
P 
J 
t> 
Haller fays, Memini fodalem meum Slmonium, cum Leicte mecum 
anno 1725. 
Bocrhaavii fchclas frequentaret, Aconita, Apocyna, Belladonnas baccas ir»pune devorafle, 
ab Hyofcyanii vero femine victum, nimis curioiitatis pxnas dediile, atque mente aliena- 
o 
b 
turn, alteroque latere refolutum, tamen a Pra&ceptore fervatum fuilTe, Stirp. Heh. ;z. 580 
Qut of the many inftances of this kind, we fliall only acfvert to (bnie of them, in 
order to (hew that the roots, feeds, and leaves of this plant, have Yeparately produced 
poifonous effeas. Dr. Patouillat, Phyfician at Toucy in France, relates (in thei^/;z7. 
'I'ranj. vol. 40. p. 446J that nine perfons, in confequence of having eaten the roots of 
Hyofcyamus, were (eized with moft alarming fymptoms ; " fome were fpeechlefs, and 
fhewed no other figns of life than by convulfions, contortions of their limbs, and the 
rifus fardonicus ; all having their eyes ftarting out of their heads, and tlieir mouths 
drawn backwards on both fides ; others had all the fymptoms alike ; however five of then! 
did now and then open their mouths, but it was to utter bowlings. The madnefs of all 
thefe patients was fo complete, and their agitations fo violent, that in order to give one 
of them the antidote, I was obliged to employ fix ftrong men to hold him v^^hile I was 
getting his teeth afunder to pour down the remedy." And what is remarkable, Dr. P. 
fays, that on their recovery, all obje61:s appeared to them as red as fcarlet, for two or t'lree 
day?. — Further accounts of the effeds of thefe roots are given by Wepfer de Cicut, &c. . 
p. 230. Simon Pauli Quadr. p. 384. Blom, in Vet. Ac. Handl. 1774. p. 52 
Refpe6ting tlie feeds of Henbane, vve have an account given by Sir H-ms Sloane, (in the 
Pkii. IranJ. vol. 38. p.. 99.) of four children who ate them by miftaking the capiulcs, in 
Vv'hich they were contained, for filberts. " llie fymptoms that appeared in all the four 
v,fere great thirft, fv/immings of the head, dimnefs of fight, ravings, profound fleep, 
"which laft in one of the children continued two days and nights." See alfo EJ/ays and 
Objervations^ phyf. & lit, ^oL 2. p, 243. Helmont. Ort. Med. /). 306. Ephemer. Germ. 
annis J & S- &c. 
Fhe leaves of Hyofcyamus, we are told, were boiled in broth, and 
eaten by feven perfons, (five men and two women) who foon became aftedted with fymp- 
toms of intoxication. Dr. Stedman fays, " I faw them about three hours after having 
eat it J and then three of the men were become quite infenfible, did not know their 
. comrades, talked incoherently, and were in as high a delirium as people in the rage of a 
Ail of them had low irregular pulfes, |lavered, and frequently changed colour : 
fever. 
their eyes looked fiery, and they catched at whatever lay next them, calling out that it 
was going to M." Phi/. Tranf. vol 47. an. 1750. 
■ For additional fad?, fee Haller I. c. . Sp'ielmannt D'ljf. de veget. vsn. Alfat. 
Henbane is poifonous to birds and dogs j but horfes, cows^ goats, and fwine, it doe 
not afFed;, 
3 
r 
N 
/ 
\ 
verjr 
