54 MEDICIXAL HERBS AND POISONOUS PLANTS 



Columbine (Aquilegia vidyarisy 



Fiv^e coloured sepals. 



Five petals. 



Flo\\'er bears resemblance to five little birds putting 



their beaks toiretlier. 



Compound loaves (fig. 30). 



Larkspur {Delphinnmi Ajacis), 



Coloured calyx, one sepal being prolonged into a 



spur. 

 Within spurred sepal are two spurred petals (fig. 31). 



Traveller's Joy, Old Man's Beard {Clematis Vit- 



alha). — Among the secrets which tramps possess is a 

 method for raising sores on their arms by rubbing into 

 skin abrasions the juice of Traveller's Joy. Sores are 

 thereby raised which excite commiseration, and may lead 

 to the dispensing of various material benefits, preferably 

 in the form of coin of the realm. These gentry know 

 that though the poison which causes the sore is acrid and 

 narcotic it is readily dissipated by heat. If the leaves be 

 chewed, the tongue will soon be covered Avith small ulcers. 

 Taken internally, the juice has been known to cause 

 death: it always has the effect of a violent purgative. 



Wood Anemone {Anemone nemorosa), — Cattle have 



been poisgned by eating Wood Anemone in a fresh state, 

 but the plant in a dried state does not appear to be dan- 

 gerous. The toxic principle is called ant^monin, and is 



a very volatile body. 



The Buttercup Group. — It is obviously necessary 

 to examine this group with some care, as children love 

 to gather buttercups, and sometimes play for hours with 

 these flowers. Again, cattle must browse to an enormous 

 extent on the commoner varieties, such as the Field 

 Buttercup. It must, however, be pointed out that the 

 whole of this group is pervaded by a deleterious sub- 



