<>NS IN BOTANY. 



Spaniard*, almost universally. They are both, howovi r, injuri..m 



if eaton raw. \Vi- inuy ln-ro remark, in connection with tlm 



tho vegetable substance, starch, in largely diffused 



in >ut many poisonous planta, and, when separated from 



is invariably harmless. Of thia wo have a remarkable 



i'\:imjilc in tapioca, which U nothing 



nun Die baked starch extracted 



from the large fleshy roots of the 



'in Manilivt. The juice 



of tho tree is BO poisonous that 



arrows are poisoned with it ; never- 



- a delicate article 



d. 



common deadly nightshade 



adonna) grows in shady 



. and is an elegant, though 



:crous-looking plant. 



The belladonna bears a cherry- 



like fruit, which has been sometimes 



incautiously eaten by children, 



and too often attended with a fatal 



In 1793, some orphans, brought 

 up at the Hospice de la Pie'te, at 

 were employed in weeding a 

 botanical garden. They happened 

 to be attracted by the tempting- 

 looking fruit of a belladonna plant, 

 of which they ate a considerable 

 quantity. Fourteen of those un- 

 fortunate children died in conse- 

 quence of this only a very few hours 

 afterwards. 



This fact justifies the generic 

 name Atropa, from Atropos, one of 

 the Fates, who was supposed to cut 

 the thread of life. The specific name, 

 Belladonna, signifies beautiful lady, 

 and is dependent on the circum- 

 stance that the Italian ladies use 

 the distilled water of this plant as 



a cosmetic. They fancy it improves their complexions. The 

 active principle of belladonna chiefly resides in the leaves and 

 in the root. Chemists term it Atropine or Atropia. 



The mandrake (Fig. 154) is a species very nearly allied to the 

 belladonna and it grows in the south of Europe, and in dark 



156. SNAKE GOURD (TRICHOSANTHES COLUBRINA). 

 157. BLOSSOM OF THE SNAKE GOURD. 



exhales a repulsive odour. It* corolla U palish-yellow, reined 

 with purple. The Hyoieyamut, or henbane, owes iU narcotic 

 properties to tho presence of a peculiar alkali. The action of 

 henbane is far less powerful than that of belladonna; never- 

 tholess, it may cause death if eaten. A German physician 

 relates that, on a certain occasion, 



th.r BOMdMfaM inoi.U .,t the MsV 

 rent of Khinon were presented with 

 a salad in which the slioed root of 

 chicory, as was thought, had been 

 placed. Instead, however, of chicory, 

 the root was of henbane. After the 

 repast, the monks went to bed. 

 Symptoms of poisoning soon com- 

 menced ; the monks were all stupe- 

 fied. The time for matins or morn- 

 ing prayers arrived, and one monk 

 was so fast aaleep that his fellows 

 supposed hi to be dying, and under 

 this impression administered to him 

 extreme unction. The other monks 

 went to chapel, but they had much 

 better have stayed away; some of 

 them could not even open their eyes, 

 much less read. The vision of others 

 was so disordered that they thought 

 insects were crawling over their 

 books, and employed themselves in 

 blowing and brushing the intruders 

 off. Others, instead of praying, 

 uttered nonsense. In the end, all 

 the monks got well, even the one 

 supposed to be dead ; but one poor 

 individual, a tailor, could not thread 

 his needle for a long time afterwards, 

 so disordered was the state of his 

 vision. Instead of one needle the 

 tailor saw three, and as he could not 

 tell the real needle from its ghost- 

 like duplicates, there was slight 

 chance of threading it. This anec- 



dote makes known better than any formal description the phy- 

 siological action of henbane. 



The stramonium (Fig. 155) is another of the Nightshade tribe 

 Datura Stramonium). It is an annual, and was unknown to the 

 (ancient Greeks and Romans, although now common enough, 

 having been brought from Central Asia in the Middle Ages by that 



places. This plant, known and celebrated from times of very 



great antiquity, was employed by the so-called sorcerers of | wandering race, the Gipsies. Its active principle is called datu- 



ancient times to produce narcotism and disordered visions. Its rine, which exists in the leaves and the seeds. This principle 



roots are large, often 

 two-pronged, whence 

 the fancied resem- 

 blance to the lower 

 limbs of a man. It 

 is supposed that the 

 mandrakes men- 

 tioned in the Old 

 Testament were not 

 tho same as the 

 plant which is known 

 to us by this name, 

 but that, under this 

 term, reference is 

 made to the fragrant 

 but insipid fruit of 

 the Cucumis Dudaim, 

 which, as we have 

 already said in our 

 remarks on tho Cu- 



158. ENLARGED REPRESENTATION OF, FLOWER OF DKADLT 

 NIGHTSHADE CUT OPEN. 159. CALYX. OVART, AND 8TTLB 

 OF DEADLY NIGHTSHADE. 160. TRANSVERSE SECTION 



OF OVART. 161. CURVED OVULE OF DEADLT NIGHTSHADE. 



curbitaceoc, is cultivated in the gardens of tho East for the other poisonous plants, has its beneficial uses. 



is a potent narcotic 

 alkaloid, resembling 

 in its quality and the 

 effects it produces the 

 alkaloids hyostyamia 

 andafroyia.yieldod by 

 the henbane and bella- 

 donna. It is a deadly 

 poison, and among the 

 most striking of its 

 properties may be 

 named the effect it 

 produces on the pupil 

 of the eye namely, 

 that of causing it to 

 dilate strongly. 

 Nevertheless, the stra- 

 monium, or thorn- 

 apple as it is some- 

 times called, like many 

 In Cochin 



odour it exhales. The mandrake is also confounded by some 

 with the sleep-apple, a mossy excrescence on tho wild rose, 

 which, when laid under the pillow, was supposed not to allow 

 any one to awake until it was taken away. 



Henbane, or Hyo'cyamus niger, is another European plant 

 belonging to this gei .us. It is biennial, and grows amidst the 

 ruins of buildings 01 in the neighbourhood of habitations. Its 

 stem is studded with a cotton-liko substance, and it constantly 



China, a decoction made of its leaves is considered an effectual 

 remedy for hydrophobia, the terrible disease resulting from the 

 bite of a mad dog ; but this is very doubtful. In small quan- 

 tities daf urine is useful as an anodyne or pain-soother, and as an 

 anti-spasmodic. Persons suffering from asthma have found relief 

 in smoking the dried leaves of the plant, or inhaling an infusion 

 made by pouring boiling water on the seeds or leaves. Great 

 care, however, should be taken lest the patient take an overdose. 



