HEATH FAMILY. 78 



Cattle, sheep, horses and goats have died from eating 

 the leaves, Kalmia latifolia probably causing most deaths- 

 Care should be taken to avoid laurel thickets when herd- 

 ing animals in spring, as the evergreen leaves are tempt- 

 ing. 



Cases of human poisoning arise from the use of con- 

 taminated meat or honey, from overdoses in "home 

 made" medicine, and from mistaking the young shoots 

 for those of wintergreen. The leaves have been used to 

 increase the intoxicating effect of liquors, sometimes with 

 disastrous results. 



Irregular breathing is a very characteristic symptom. 



In addition we have persistent nausea, salivation and 



grating of the teeth, together with dizziness 



Symptoms . ' f 



and loss of sight and feeling. Stupor and death 

 follow. In man there is intense headache, perspiration, 

 tingling in the skin, and much vomiting. 



As antidotes for the poison, Chesnut suggests atropin 



, or strychnin. He recommends also the use 

 Treatment 



of oil, fat or melted lard when symptoms 

 are first noted. 



The Mountain Laurel, Kalmia, latifolia L., is found on 

 rocky hills and dry slopes from the eastern coast to 

 The Plants Ontario and southward. Miss Fyles quotes 

 Barton, who wrote in 1798 that this species 

 was poisonous to animals and was used by Indians as a 

 means of suicide. In Canada it is a shrub, usually not 

 more than six feet high, but grows much larger in some 

 parts farther south. The evergreen, short-petioled, 

 usually alternate leaves are ovate-lanceolate or oblong, 

 thick, and bright green on both sides. The beautiful 

 pink flowers are flat with a raised edge and depressions 

 for the anthers of the ten stamens. They are one-half 



