KUIN8, WALLS, AND WASTE PLACES. 87 



In many an out-of-the-way corner, as midsummer 

 draws nigh, the Deadly Nightshade the common 

 Dwale (Atropa belladonna) shows its dark, lurid, 

 purple, bell-shaped blossoms, which precede the pur- 

 plish-black berries, which are fixed in a purple cup. 

 This must not be confounded with the bitter-sweet of 

 our hedges, for it is infinitely more poisonous. It 

 loves to lurk in an out-of-the-way corner of a ruined 

 wall or dilapidated cottage. The egg-shaped leaves 

 are large and of a dull green colour. The stem is 

 from one to two feet high. The plant furnishes a 

 useful medicine, but even medical men use it with 

 great care. 



A frequent companion of the belladonna is the 

 Large Celandine (Chdidoniwin majus), the tetter- 

 wort of our ancestors, its acrid juices being used as a 

 caustic remedy for that old affliction. It grows some 

 two feet high. The stem is hairy and brittle. The 

 pinnated leaves are thin, lobed, and notched. The 

 dull yellow flowers are somewhat small, and grow in 

 long-stalked umbels ; they are bucceeded by long 

 pods. 



On shady rocks, damp walls, but sonu-vvhat partial 

 in its likings, is the succulent Wall Pennywort (Coty- 



