IHh ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



321 



usually smaller size and nearly equal 

 prickles of the capsules. The distinction 

 is, however, not essential, as the prop- 

 erties are regarded as identical. The 

 whole plant has a striking, and to the 

 careless an attractive aspect, and few 

 plants in the world have so extensive a 

 toxicological literature. Although pois- 

 oning is most common by the seeds, un- 

 der which the subject will be considered, 

 we must remember that the herbage is 

 not without its record in this direction. 

 We close our account of the poisonous 

 herbs with that of the Lobelia infiata L- 

 or Indian Tobacco, a plant exceedingly 

 common in our vicinity and with an ex- 

 tensive record of fatal poisoning cases, 

 all of which have occurred through its 

 improper use as a medicine. This has 

 always been a favorite remedy with the 

 quack medical sects such as the Cof- 

 finites. A writer in the British Medical 

 Journal for 1882 says, "Deaths from 

 Lobelia infiata administered by Cof- 

 finites are of frequent occurrence. Their 

 dictum is that ' heat is life and the want 

 of heat disease and death.' In accord- 

 ance with this principle, their drugs are 

 Lobelia and Cayenne. It is asserted by 

 them that Lobelia cannot kill, but it has 

 been shown over and over again that, 

 when not rejected, it acts as a powerful 

 toxic agent and kills with the greatest 

 certainty. The treatment of poisoning 

 by Lobelia is simple. The stomach 

 pump should be used if necessary, stim- 

 ulants should be freely administered and 

 a dose of 2V °f a g ra i n or " nitrate of 

 st^chnine, or its equivalent in Nux vo- 

 mica, should be injected hypodermically." 

 In the case referred to by this writer, 

 perforation of the stomach was found 

 after death. Another writer in the same 

 journal, i860, 11, 799, reports the case of 

 a child poisoned by this plant which 

 suffered such agony as to lead it to lacer- 

 ate its face and limbs with its nails. The 



drug is therefore to be regarded as an ir- 

 ritant narcotic poison. Identification is 

 easy. It grows in partly grassy open 

 locations, especially those which are 

 gravelly or partly sandy. It is about a 

 foot high, branched, often much so, with 

 little blue flowers solitary and sessile in 

 the axils, the corolla split down the front, 

 and especially by its inflated capsules. 



Concerning poisonous flowers there 

 is very little to be said. Poisoning 

 accidents by them are rare indeed, yet it 

 is proper to record a few which have been 

 found to be poisonous, and must hence be 

 regarded as more or less dangerous. 



A case of slight narcotic poisoning by 

 Elder flowers has already been cited. 



The flowers of Lily- of-the-Valley share 

 in a lesser degree the properties of the 

 remainder of the plant, and because of 

 their fragrance, attractive appearance 

 and sweetish tastes are especially dan- 

 gerous to children. 



The flowers of the locust are regarded 

 with suspicion, and it is claimed that the 

 occasional poi-onous properties of honey 

 are due to its origin in these flowers, 

 though there are good theoretical reasons 

 for doubting this. 



The same statement applies to nectar 

 obtained from flowers of the two species 

 of laurel and of Pieris Mariana, or Stag- 

 ger-bush. It is interesting to consider 

 the possible intoxication of the insects by 

 this property with a resulting increase in 

 the spread of pollen due to the clumsy 

 movements so induced. 



Coming now to the consideration 

 of poisonous fruits, we observe that the 

 liability to accidents from eating them is 

 far greater than in the case of any other 

 part of the plant. It is therefore proper 

 that we should give relatively close at- 

 tention to such articles. For convenience 

 of treatment, fruits and seeds will be in 

 part considered together. 



It is first to be recorded that one un- 



