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POISONOUS PLANTS 



often found it trailing over stone fences in com- 

 paratively dry fields. It has coarse, thin leaves of twc 

 patterns a custom of many herbs and trees, from 

 the Convolvulus to the Sassafras the lower leaves 

 being of a strangely divided heart-shaped form, the 



upper spear-like. The purple flowers, suggesting 

 the type of the Potato blossom, are followed by 

 loose clusters of clear, bright red berries, which, 

 though of a bittersweet flavor, are very attractive to 

 children and are poisonous if eaten in any quantity. 

 Black Nightshade, a near relative of this climber, 

 is an annual herb two feet high, often found in old 

 gardens and in cultivated soil that has been neg- 

 lected. It has ovate leaves with waved edges, a 



