1895-96-] Poisonous Plants. 155 



horses and cows in Bedfordshire lately, so that farmers suffered 

 considerable pecuniary losses thereby. 



Passing to the Leguminosce, — this order doubtless con- 

 tributes largely to the sustenance of man and beast, and in it 

 we have many splendid species of both ornament and utility, 

 yet there are among them forms of the most noxious nature. 

 The laburnum, much planted on account of its glossy foliage 

 and pendulous racemes of yellow flowers, is specially to be 

 guarded against. I lately sent the following letter to the 

 ' Scotsman ' : — 



' Sir, — I noticed in your columns of Tuesday the case of a narrow escape 

 from poisoning of five children by eating the seed -pods of laburnum. There 

 are two species of this shrub, or small tree, planted in Britain — Cytisus labur- 

 num and C. alpinus, both poisonous. ■'. All parts of the tree — the roots, seeds, 

 and leaves — when taken into the stomach prove a powerful poison. Fifty- 

 eight boys in an industrial school in the south of England chewed varying 

 quantities of the roots of a laburnum tree, mistaking it for stick liquorice. 

 In a very short time the boys were affected with symptoms of narcotic 

 poisoning. They were taken into the infirmary and treated immediately 

 by the application of the proper antidote. It is said that if a garland of 

 the flowers is worn round the neck it produces headache. I recollect an 

 instance of a boy about ten years of age mistaking and eating the seeds 

 for green peas. In a short time he was seized with most alarming symp- 

 toms, requiring the immediate attention of a medical man, and it was 

 some time before he was out of danger. 



Some other plants of this division have noxious properties 

 attributed to them. Conilla varia, an excluded British species, 

 has poisonous juices ; Lathyrus Aphaca, a plant abundant in 

 some parts of England, has seeds which are narcotic, producing 

 headache if eaten in a ripe state. 



The Umbelliferce, a large and well-defined order, contains 

 1500 species or more. The root, stem, and foliage of some 

 of the species are pervaded with an acrid juice, which renders 

 them extremely poisonous ; yet we have in this family many 

 excellent culinary vegetables, such as the carrot, parsley, par- 

 snip, celery, &c. Celery in its wild state is slightly injurious, 

 but when blanched by cultivation it becomes one of the best 

 of salads. Popularly all the tall - growing umbellifers are 

 designated " hemlock," so that it is a difficult task in many 

 cases to trace the particular plant that has done the mischief. 

 Cowbane or water-hemlock, and water-dropwort, both very 



