56 



servable. Later the dried rooi was ground and a very annoying and 

 somewhat persistent irritation of tlie miu-dus memljraues of tlie eye re- 

 sulted, yielding only to treatment by an oculist. It is fair inference that 

 no part of the Pokeberry is a contact poison in the ordinary acceptance of 

 the term, although the plant does possess a poisonous principle which 

 under exceptional conditions may produce an inflammation of a somewhat 

 ol)Stinate and therefore serious cliaracter. 



The Baueberry (Acta-a rubra (Ait.) Willd.) is said to contain a "vesicat- 

 ing principle." Experimentation upon fifteen subjects failed to verify this 

 statement. In this case, as in all others ^^ here negative results were ob- 

 tained, the experiments were repeated several times at different stages of 

 the development of the plant. 



The Field Larkspur (Delphinium consolida L.) is also claimed to be a 

 skin irritant. "A specific element in the seeds produces in tincture great 

 burning and inflammation of the skin." The experiments upon this form 

 were unsatisfactory because of tlie small amount of material available. 

 The tincture applied to the skin produced some slight burning and in- 

 flammation, although the latter was no greater than would be expected 

 from a similar treatment Avitli pure alcohol. Evidently, however, the 

 Field Larkspur is in no sense to be considered a plant dangerous to handle. 



The Wild Anemone or Wind flower (Anemone quinquefolia L.), said to 

 be "irritating to the skin, producing i-edness and itching," was found, so 

 far as the experiments went, to be perfectly innocuous, not even those 

 who W'ere most susceptible to skin ii-ritatioiis showing the slightest sign of 

 inflammatory symptoms. 



The Virgin's Bower or Wild Clematis (Clematis Yirginiana L.), said to 

 contain an "acrid irritant producing blisters", affected nine out of seven- 

 teen subjects; four by the mere handling, the other five as a result of rub- 

 bing the skin with the leaves and flowers. A marked hypersemia preceded 

 the vesicular stage of the inflammation, which in no case was of more 

 than three days duration. 



Three of the Crowfoots or Buttercups (Ranunculus sceleratus L., R. 

 acris L., and R. bulbosus L.i. it is alleged, 'cause inflammation and ulcers, 

 the root being especially rich in poisonous substances." Of these R. 

 sceleratus and R. bulbosus are sufficiently occasional in our area to be 

 neglected. R. at ris, also, as at present delimited by systematists, is of 

 relatively scant occurrence in Indiana. Seven subjects were used. None 



