296 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



1 



(ORRESPONDENCE 

 ^ ^r^ and Inform l 



X 



Information 



A Cure for Poison Ivy. 



Tryon, North Carolina. 

 To the; Editor: — 



When in the woods one susceptible 

 to poison ivy will often find that contact 

 has been had with it. If so, on reaching 

 home wash the parts affected and then 

 bathe with sweet spirits of nitre and also 

 take from a half to one teaspoonful in a 

 little water. Repeat this two or three 

 times at intervals of two or three hours 

 and the poison will probably never show. 



While grindelia is good, it is not al- 

 ways at hand. Water, as hot as it can be 

 borne, may be dabbed onto the blisters, 

 keeping it up for some time. This will 

 dry them up a-bout as quickly as anything. 



H. A. Green. 



Scratching a Toad's Back. 



Plattsburgh, New York. 

 To the Editor: — 



Walking about the lawn and flower 

 garden in the early evening I found 

 numerous toads hopping about, and 

 having read that they would destroy 



many insects harmful to plants, I was 

 interested in their welfare. Thinking I 

 would use my camera I put a fine 

 specimen under a flowerpot, my daugh- 

 ter objecting, claiming it was unkind; 

 but in the morning I found it had dis- 

 appeared, having tunneled through the 

 sod. 



I knew nothing of their habits but 

 happened with twig in hand to care- 

 fully approach one, and as I stroked it 

 gently it would puff out its side with 

 such perfect satisfaction, and when the 

 stick touched the other side he turned 

 the other way, remaining as long as I 

 continued the treatment and causing 

 much amusement to those who watched 

 his blissful contortions. 



The friend who assisted me in making 

 the photograph, which does not do jus- 

 tice to the situation, said she had never 

 before taken a toad into her hand, and 

 I find that most people object to doing 

 so. But why it should be any more 

 disagreeable than fish I cannot decide. 

 (Mrs.) M. E. McDougall. 



"AS I STROKED IT GENTLY." 



