134 POISONOUS PLANTS 



poisonous plant. The flowers are as harmful as 

 other parts ; thus a child ate a few of them, and in 

 two days died. 



During the Peninsular War, a number of French 

 soldiers who went out foraging near Madrid, 

 returned laden with the fruits of their search. 

 One of the number, with the view of securing some 

 wood to make skewers for the meat, cut a quantity 

 of Oleander boughs, and having stripped off the 

 bark, used the wood in the meat. The result was, 

 that out of twelve who ate of the meat, seven 

 died, and the rest were dangerously ill. The 

 poisonous principle is said to be so subtle that its 

 exhalations alone are sufficient to cause serious 

 accidents, and even death, to those who sleep for 

 any time under its influence.^ 



Dog's-BANE, orFL,Y-i:^A.v{Apocynum androscemi- 

 foliiint), a native of the United States, as well as 

 the so-called Indian Hemp (^A, cannabinuui)^ are 

 both cultivated as garden plants. Neither can be 

 strictly called poisonous, as no serious results have 

 ever followed from their use as drug-plants; but 

 the root especially has a strong nauseous odour, 

 and an acrid bitter taste. 



Foxglove Family {ScrophularinecB). — This is 

 a large family, characterized by always having an 

 irregular corolla, but it takes various shapes as 



1 Mr. Blyth recommends the same treatment in the case 

 of poisoning by Oleander as for Digitalis ox Foxglove,^. 138. 



