232 THE RING OF NATURE 



near the one or two far-scattered gardens where it 

 comes up in spite of persecution. The henbane, 

 on the other hand, soon gives up its hold on the 

 old herbal garden, and flourishes in the wild state. 

 It looks as poisonous as it is. The long bending 

 sprays with many pairs of opposite leaves has a 

 general resemblance to Solomon's seal, but the 

 leaves have an angry appearance that reminds 

 you of the nettle, bristling in all directions like 

 the fingers of a hand that is clutching the air with 

 fury. The blossoms, roughly like the deadly 

 nightshade in shape, are not so purple, the lurid 

 veins not discharging into the paler flesh of the 

 petals, but keeping their colour like scribblings of 

 a pen dipped in dirty blood. 



It is a happy thing for us that the plant looks 

 a villain all over. The fruit is not in the least 

 attractive, resembling that of the thorn-apple 

 in the fact that the seeds are quite dry. Instead of 

 splitting, the capsule deftly scalps itself like a very 

 neatly opened egg, showing within the perfectly 

 packed seeds. A caterpillar of its own, coloured 

 with the same olive-green as the ripe leaves, 

 pushes its head into the open box and devours all 

 the seeds it can get. It is wonderful that the 

 scientists have not prepared an antitoxin from 

 that caterpillar to fortify us from the very rare 

 chance of hyoscine poisoning. 



That ends the deadly nightshade thorn-apple 

 henbane family, a very close association of plants 

 all poisonous, except perhaps the tomato. The 



