158 Introductory View of the 



to observe that a ternate leaf is composed of three leaflets set 

 together, usually at right angles 

 (/^.44. a) I a hiternate leaf, 

 of three ternate leaves, disposed 

 in the same manner ( h ). An- 

 other dangerous plant of this 

 order is the water parsnep (^Sium 

 nodifl6rum), which grows in 

 close companionship with the ^mmr to i 

 watercress; and, when not in ^^^T fj 

 flower, so nearly resembles that 



plant, as to have been frequently mistaken for it. It is not 

 a week since I detected this poisonous herb in fellowship 

 with the watercress, in a quantity purchased for a family of 

 children. The watercress is of a darker green, and sometimes 

 dashed with brown ; the leaflets are of a rounder form, more 

 especially the odd one at the end, which is larger than the rest, 

 and their edges are irregularly waved. The water parsnep is 

 of a uniform light green, without any tinge of brown ; the leaf- 

 lets are longer and narrower than those of the watercress, 

 tapering at each end, and serrated at their edges. The best 

 way to become acquainted with the difference, and to obtain a 

 confident knowledge of them, is to examine them in the month 

 of July, when the flowers of both are present to decide be- 

 tween them. I have not specified all the dangerous plants 

 of this tribe ; our limits will only admit of my noticing the 

 peculiar characters of the most dangerous. 



Among the edible plants of this tribe are the carrot, parsnep, 

 fennel, caraway, parsley, celery, &c. A foreigner of the family, 

 is the giant fennel, or i^erula, of high renown as the vehicle in 

 which Hesiod records Prometheus to have brought down fire 

 from heaven.. He is said, too, to have been the ijiventor of 

 the steel by which fire is struck from flint; metaphorically, 

 therefore, he might be said to have brought fire from heaven. 

 The sailors of the Levant frequently convey this element, from 

 one island to another, in the stem of the i^erula. The pith it 

 contains is used by the Sicilians as tinder ; and all these facts 

 connected, give a sort of poetic truth to Hesiod's story. 



The very nauseous but useful drug, Assafoetida, is a resinous 

 exudation from a species of i^erula, growing among certain 

 fountains in Persia; and, fetid as this drug is, it is much 

 esteemed, in many parts of the East, as a seasoning for various 

 dishes. It is said that the Banian Indians, who eat no animal 

 food, scarcely eat any thing that is not seasoned with it ; and 

 6ven rub their mouths with it, as a provocative to the appetite. 

 If it were done as a mortification and a penance, we could readily 



