1 84 POISONOUS PLANTS 



able cordial called Cherry Bounce, few people 

 dream of the mischief it may do to cattle, until 

 they are taught by at least one fatal experience. 



The green and growing leaves and branches are 

 harmless, but when broken by the wind, as often 

 happens, or in any way left to wither in a place 

 where cattle can eat them, they become a source 

 of danger. When cattle eat either withered leaves 

 or branches, sickness always follows and frequently 

 death, from paralysis of the lungs caused by the 

 prussic acid in the tree. This same acid is what 

 gives the pleasant and harmless flavor to the fruit 

 juice, but at the same time, if the pits are swal- 

 lowed by children and the kernels digested, the re- 

 sult is sometimes fatal. Birds devour these berries in 

 quantities, but, as can plainly be seen, they digest 

 the pulp alone and the pit is passed unchanged. 



So much for the poisonous plants, few in num- 

 ber, easy to be identified, to be neither touched nor 

 tasted, but visited in their haunts. While, at the 

 safe distance that knowledge spreads between us 

 and them, we may enjoy the better part of their 

 dual natures as, blended with worthier stuffs, they 

 weave their varied patterns and hues into the end- 

 less garment of the Magician. 



