270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



yards in extent. As the roots soon become useless they wither 

 away. 



Order 24. NIGHTSHADES— Solanace^. "An order com- 

 prising plants with widely different properties ; sometimes the 

 foliage and fruit are highly poisonous, while on the other hand it 

 affords some of our most valuable esculents" {Darlington), as the 

 potato and tomato. 



87. Common Nightshade — Solanum nigrum. Annual. Stem one to two feet high, 

 branched. Leaves ovate, two to three inches long, the margin cut as if gnawed by in- 

 sects. Floiuers white. Berries gbibose, black. 



Not uncommon about rubbish, in old fields, and in waste places. 

 It is a homely weed, and said to be poisonous. It should be care- 

 fully eradicated. Bittersweet — Sulanum Dulcamara. A well known 

 species, found on moist banks and about dwellings. The stem is 

 shrubby. Plant perennial. Flowers blue. Berries red, said to be 

 poisonous. 



Order 25. GENTIANWORTS— Gentianace^. A family pre- 

 senting many beautiful species. A bitter-tonic principle pervades 

 the whole order. 



88. Blue Fringed Gentian — Gentiana crinita. Annual ? Stem six to sixteen inches 

 high, smooth. Leaves one to two inches long, broadest at base. Flowers bright bluish- 

 purple, the segments finely fringed around the margin. 



A truly beautiful and interesting plant, yet growing in such 

 abundance when it has once got foothold that it may be considered 

 a most pernicious weed. It delights in cool, low grounds, and, in 

 such situations, we have seen fields fairly blue with its blossoms. 

 The flowers appear in August and September. The seeds are 

 frequently introduced in clover and grass-seed. The plant should 

 be carefully eradicated upon its first appearance, before any seeds 

 have matured. This may be accomplished on a small scale by 

 hand-pulling, during the month of August. 



Order 26. DOG-BANES— Apoctnace^. The Oleander and 

 Periwinkle represent this order in our gardens. The juice is milky 

 and often exceedingly poisonous. One of the most violent poisons 

 is extracted from the seeds of Strychnos Nux vomica of India, — 

 the Strychnine of commerce. 



89. Spueading Dogbane — Indian Hemp — Apocynum androsesmi folium. Perennial. 

 Stems smooth, branched above, reddened by the sun, about three feet high. Leaves two 



