130 MEDICINAL HERBS AND POISONOUS PLANTS 



2i-3 feet apart. In the second year the English crop 

 is cut while flowering in June, and is usnallj' carted 

 straight to the factory in which the extract is made. 



The average crop of fresh lierb in tlie second and tliird 

 years is 5 to 6 tons per acre. A second crop is obtained 

 in September in good seasons. In the fourth year the 

 root is collected, washed, and sliced to accelerate drying. 



Heavy rainfall and lack of sunshine are responsible 

 for occasional disasters in the cultivation of Belladonna. 



Mr. Shenstone lias reminded us that, inasmuch as the 

 value of Belladonna and similar plants depends entirely 

 on their alkaloidal contents, co-operation between the 

 grower and the chemist is desirable, if we wish to culti- 

 vate plants of high alkaloidal value. 



Hexbaxe {Hyoscyamiis niger\ — This is another of 

 our poisonous plants which is also of great medicinal 

 importance. It can be identified without much difficulty. 



1. The corolla is yellowish, with veins of a violet tint; 



it is, further, funnel-shaped and about an inch or 

 more in diameter (fig. 81). 



2. Tlie leaves are large, hairy, and viscid. 



3. Tlie whole plant lias a very disagreeable smell. 



4. The flowers are arranged in rows all along one side 



of the stem. 



■ 



The fruit is a 2-celled capsule and is enveloped by the 

 calyx. 



JWisonous Properties. — Every part of the plant is 

 l^oisonous; the root is the most prolific source of trouble, 

 as it may be, and has been frequently, mistaken for the 

 root of parsnip or of chicory; the seeds have been eaten 

 by children. The poison is not affected by boibn^r or 

 dryintj, and is therefore all the more to be feared. As 

 a rule, animals refuse to eat the plant. Henslow records 

 that the whole of the inmates of a monastery were 



