DICOTYLEDONS I27 



establishment resembled a lunatic asylum. They 

 rang the bell for matins at midnight ; and those 

 who attended were unable to rekd, or they read 

 that which was not in the book. 



The seeds possess all the properties of the plant ; 

 the smoke taken into the mouth through a tube, from 

 seeds heated on a plate, was a favourite remedy 

 for toothache in the Middle Ages. They are now 

 sometimes smoked in a pipe. 



The roots put into soup have also caused serious 

 results.^ 



Tobacco (^Nicotiana Tabacum, rusticum, etc). — 

 Several species are cultivated on the Continent, 

 and one {N. affinis) is frequently cultivated in 

 England for the sake of its white and scented 

 flowers. 



Like poppies, the poisonous principle of the 

 Tobacco-plant is not in the seeds, but in the 

 foliage ; yet the seeds of the Thorn-apple, of this 

 same family, are very injurious. 



The leaves when young are poor in the poisonous 

 alkaloid, which increases as they mature, and in 

 the autumn, the maximum amount being in early 

 September. Climate has a great influence on its 

 production, as well as the nature of the soil and 

 the manures applied. Sandy soils with a clay 



1 Dr. Tanner observes that to prevent a fatal result from 

 the use of Henbane^ we must trust to emetics and full doses 

 of castor-oil. 



