TEPHROSIA VIRGINIANA. VIRGINIAN GOAT'S-RUE ; HOARY PEA. S3 



qualifying term, " Goat's," was added because goats eat it with 

 avidity in the places where it grows naturally. In old times 

 the ancient Goats-Rue was supposed to have strong cordial 

 qualities, and perhaps if it had, the goats, borrowing a hint from 

 a portion of mankind, might have been glad of a little stimulant 

 to a naturally festive disposition. Some of the Tephrosias have 

 a very severe character of this sort, and are used to intoxicate 

 fish. The leaves are powdered and thrown into the water, and 

 they act so powerfully on the fish that many of them never 

 recover, but die. This particular species, T. toxicaria, is culti- 

 vated in the West Indies especially to furnish material for this 

 form of fish hunting. Our plant, T. Virginiana, has been found 

 to have some of the virtues ascribed to the original Galcca. 

 Dr. Wood regarded it as a mild, stimulating tonic and laxative, 

 and used it with good results in typhoid fever. He prepared it 

 by mixing eight ounces of the plant with two of Rumcx acutus, 

 or, as we now say, R. ob Ion gifo this, the Common Field-Dock, in 

 four quarts of water, and boiling the decoction down to a quart; 

 after straining he gave it in doses of one or two tablespoonfuls. 

 When the Europeans came here, they found it a popular vermi- 

 fuge with the Indians, who used the roots in that capacity, and 

 our people regard it as very useful still. These roots are very 

 long, travelling a great way under ground, and are so tough and 

 wiry that they have procured for the plant the name of " Catgut," 

 under which it is known in the South, in allusion to the similar 

 toughness of violin strings. In most botanical works, however, 

 it has retained its old name of Goat's-Rue (although probably 

 never a goat in America ate it), and as Virginian Goat's-Rue 

 it is often referred to in popular writings. Dr. Gray and some 

 others have used a translation of the botanical name for a com- 

 mon one, namely, Hoary Pea, which is much more character- 

 istic than Goat's-Rue, and worthy of adoption. This would 

 make our species the Virginian Hoary Pea, and all we can say 

 is that our readers have a choice of names. Dr. Peyre Porcher 

 tells us that in the South it is often called " Turkey-Pea." 



