LILY FAMILY. 55 



"Treatment," he says, "should be pursued with cardiac 

 and respiratory stimulants, such as amyl nitrate (by in- 

 halation), alcohol, strychnin, and atropin; 



tannic acid as a chemical antidote* ; opium 

 to subdue pain, and demulcents to relieve local irritation 

 in the digestive tract. Warm water should be given to 

 smaller animals to wash out the stomach and assist vomi- 

 tion, and quietude should be enforced. In man, fatal pois- 

 oning is rare, since the drug is spontaneously vomited." 



The plant is a coarse perennial from two to eight feet 



tall. The leafy stem grows from a thick erect rootstock. 



The large leaves are entire and oval in shape 



The Plant 



with conspicuous parallel veins. They have 

 sheathing bases, are smooth on top, hairy beneath and 

 sharply pointed at the tip. The flowers are small and of 

 the liliaceous type, yellowish green and with the parts 

 moderately spreading. They are arranged in a broad 

 panicle of spike-like racemes. The plant is found on 

 moist hillsides, in swamps and wet woods, chiefly in the 

 eastern half of the continent. 



CALIFORNIA SWAMP HELLEBORE. Veratnun ealifornicam 



Durand. 



This form is more common in the west, growing in val- 

 leys among the mountains, and is stated to have caused 

 the death of cattle and horses. It resembles the former 

 species except that the flowers are whitish and in a 

 looser panicle with long, narrow flower parts. 



It produces effects similar to those of Veratrum viride 

 and the treatment is the same. Chesnut and Wilcox have 

 proved that a solution of potassium permanganate and 



*For another antidote look under Veratmm califoniicum. 



