60 PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 



73. HYOSCYAMUS. 



1. H. niger, herb downy and viscid; leaves sinuated, clasping 

 the stem ; flowers sessile, of a straw-colour, pencilled with dark- 

 purple veins. Henbane. 



Hob. Waste grounds surrounding the town, plentiful, 

 Thomp. Holy Island. July. 



The roots strung in the form of beads are the anodyne 

 necklaces tied round the necks of children to facilitate 

 the growth of their teeth. The leaves afford a very va- 

 luable medicine, in its general action approaching nearer 

 to opium than any other known article. The smoke from 

 its seeds, when applied by a funnel to a carious tooth, is 

 recommended in severe fits of toothache. The whole herb 

 is poisonous, but there is no danger of its being eaten. If 

 it is the "hebenon" of SHAKSPEARE, as the commentators 

 assert, the effects he attributes to its operation are alto- 

 gether fictitious. Hamlet, Act i. sc. 5. 



74. ATROPA. 



1. A. belladonna, stem herbaceous; leaves ovate, undivided; 

 flowers solitary, drooping, lurid purple ; berries black. Deadly 

 Nightshade* 



Hob. " On the banks of Wooler Water, near Wooler," 

 Winch. June. 7/ 



The root is presumed to be " the insane root " of SHAK- 

 SPEARE, which seems to have taken " prisoner " the rea- 

 son of many of his commentators. An extract prepared 

 from the leaves is occasionally used in medicine, and, 

 when applied near the eye, has the remarkable property 

 of dilating the pupils ; and the still more remarkable pro- 

 perty, if we are to credit some German physicians, of 

 rendering those who take it insusceptible of the contagion 

 of scarlet fever. Every part of the plant is poisonous ; 

 and numerous instances have occurred \vhere children, 

 arid the ignorant, allured by the tempting appearance of 

 the berries, have fallen victims to their deadly power. 

 BUCHANAN relates that the Scots, in the reign of DUN- 

 CAN I., during an amnesty, sent to STJENO and his army 

 a great quantity of bread, together with wine and ale, into 

 which had been infused the juice of this herb, which then 

 grew abundantly in Scotland. The Danes, suspecting no 

 guile, partook liberally of the gift, and when intoxicated 

 by the noxious juice, easily fell a prey to those they had 

 invaded. 



