482 APPENDIX. 
expiring life, from having eaten and swallowed 
some of a root, of which I send you a sample. 
“ The history of the circumstances of the case, 
as accurately as 1 could obtain them, was as 
follows :—Between nine and ten o’clock A. M. 
of that day, two or three of the children of the 
family were observed to be eating certain roots 
which they had found in a ploughed field near 
the house, and which they supposed to be 
ground nuts, artichokes, or something that was 
innoxious. The boy first complained that he had 
pain in his bowels, and felt as if he had a call to 
a dejection, and was directed to go to stool; but 
very soon returned and said he could do nothing. 
Ina few seconds he puked, and brought up, as 
an intelligent woman, who was present, told me, 
a teacup full of what she believes to be the 
recently masticated root. Upon questioning her 
particularly upon the point, she told me that the 
first impression made upon her mind after seeing 
the boy puke was, that the vomiting was occa- 
sioned by the root that he had eaten. Immedi- 
ately after puking, he fell back in convulsions, 
which, with various remissions and exacerbations, 
continued till he died. A physician was directly — 
called, who, believing the convulsions to be owing 
to the poisonous quality of the root which he had 
