POISONOUS PLANTS 



281 



like something good to eat. You have just com- 

 pared it to a little finger of butter. The thought- 

 less creature was taken with its looks. He bit into 

 th<' deceitful finger of butter. What had he done! 

 In a moment his tongue began to bur~ as if he 

 had bitten a red-hot coal. I saw him come 

 home spitting and making faces. He won't be 

 taken in again, you may be sure. Luckily he had n't 

 swallowed the piece. The next morning he was all 

 right' 1 



"A similar burning flavor is found in the white 

 milk-like juice that runs from the euphorbia when 

 cut. The euphorbia are plants of mean appearance, 

 very common everywhere. 

 Their flowers, small and yel- 

 lowish, grow in a head, the 

 even branches of which radiate 

 at the top of the stem. These 

 plants are easily recognized by 

 their white juice, their milk, 

 which runs in abundance from 

 the cut stems. This juice is 

 dangerous, even on the skin 

 alone, if it is tender ; its acrid, 

 burning taste is its sufficient 

 characteristic. 



"The aconites, like digitalis, 

 are fine plants which for 

 their beauty have been introduced in gardens, 

 notwithstanding the violence of their poison. They 

 are found in hilly countries. Their blossoms are 

 blue or yellow, helmet-shaped, and grow in an ele- 



Aconitcs 



