61 



The coiniiHin Mullein ( \'crlp:isciiiii 'i'liiiitstis L.) is in'itiitiii;; to tlir skin 

 because of its wooly liiiirs. tlic leaves lieint;- often apiilied to tlie tliroal for 

 the rubefacienl effect. Its action is so "vidently inecjianieal tliat no ex- 

 perimonfs were tried. 



The llowers of tlie Catalpa (('atal|ia ('aialpa (I>.) Ivarst.i are said to l)e 

 irritant to many persons, causing- "icddeninji- of tlie skin." In cxiieriinents 

 tried and often I'ejieiitcd upon t\vent.\- snli.jects, no sucji icsults were ob- 

 tained, altliou^li in some eases the (lowers wei'e i-nhbed njton the cheeks 

 vigorously, the Juice bein;;- allowed to remain foi- several hours. I ha\c 

 also been unable to find any ilelinite i-<'cord eonlii-niin;;- the statement. 



Jndian 'ri)liac( o (Lobelia iidlata I,.), '"when a])])lied to the skin is cap- 

 able of jiroducin;; iiTilat ion." iO.xiH'i'imeiils upon lifteen persons Jailed to 

 conlirm this alle;;c(l fact. 



The Cockleburs (,\ant liiunii ar.- ii'ritant (ju account of dust and hairs 

 witli Avhich they ai'e covered and not ])ecause of u toxic pi'incijile. No 

 expei'inients weic Jiiade with this foiin. 



Of the (Joldenrods (Solida;;()i the staiemeid is made that the "whol<> 

 family is to be re;i:arded with susjdcion )»y jiei'sons with sensitivi> skin. 

 Solidago odora.Ait. possesses a volatile oil that is an iri'itant and rube- 

 facient." Twenty-two i)ersons wei'e subjected to tests with \arious 

 speeies of ^oldeni-od, but no results were obtained to indicate the presence 

 of a toxi(,- element in oui- native sjieeies. Solida^o odora was used with 

 five subjects without resulting intlammat ion. It is exti-emely doubtful 

 ^\■he1hel• any skin irritation is jiroduced by species of this genus save 

 through meclnmieal causes. 



The common Fleabane (Lejiiilon ('anatlense (L.i I'.i'it.) it is said "con- 

 tains a volatile oil j;ossessing irritating (|ualilies to those hamlling." 

 Eleven ])ersons were used in exi»eriments lijioii this foi-m. Two had skin 

 irriliitions following the fi'ce handling of this ])lant. I'ive others were 

 I)oisoned liy the "rubliing'' jirocess. I'our were unaffected undei' eiilier 

 procedure. In this case also, the maximum ]ioint of the toxic iirinci|ile 

 seemed to be the flowering seas(jii. 



Conimoii r>eggar Ticks or Spanisii Needles (I'.iilens frondosa L.), it i.s 

 alleged, "causes itching on handling." Out of fifteen jiei-sons this was 

 found to be true in three cases, one of them being jieculiarly susce]»tible to 

 skin ii'ritation. as mentioned in a jirecedin^ liara;:i'a|ih. four (tthei's were 

 affecteil by the "rubbing" pi-ocess. The lemaining eiglit icported no 

 change in skin sensati<ms. 



