222 Editor's Letter-Box. 



T. P., Cedar Rapids, Iowa. — The Oleander is classed by botanists in the 

 Apocynacece, or Dogbane family, of which many of the species are acrid-poison- 

 ous. Philip Miller, gardener to the Worshipful Company of Apothecaries, at their 

 Botanic Garden, Chelsea, England, remarks in his Gardener's and Botanist's 

 Dictionary, of which the first edition was pubHshed in 1724, that "oil in which 

 oleander leaves are infused, is recommended in the itch and other cutaneous 

 diseases, in preferment to mercurial preparations for children and delicate con- 

 stitutions ; but that the leaves are acrid and poisonous, and therefore not proper 

 to be used internally without great caution. The branches, when burnt, einit a 

 very disagreeable odor." Even the odor of the flowers, when inhaled in close 

 rooms, sometimes produces very unpleasant effects, but probably your conserva- 

 tory is well ventilated. Within a few days we have met with the following para- 

 graph : — 



" Dr. F. L. Wright, in a communication to the Bellefontaine (O.) Republican, 

 says that he was called to attend a child a few days ago, who had eaten some 

 small fragments of an oleander, that had been clipped off. The symptoms of 

 poisoning were sudden and violent, and the result nearly fatal. Deathly pros- 

 tration, sunken eyes, great pallor, excessive vomiting, extreme thirst, and pur- 

 ging, were the predominant symptoms." 



The remedies are such as are commonly used for narcotic and acrid poisons. 



Idem. — The chemical constituent of soap-suds, which makes them so valua- 

 ble as a manure, is the potash. Consequently soap, made from the ashes of hard 

 wood, will be more valuable than that made from the ashes of soft wood, — the 

 former containing more potash, — and either will be better than that made with 

 soda, of which plants take up a very small quantity, or none at all, while fruit 

 trees, potatoes, and other plants require large quantities of potash. The grease, 

 which combined with alkali to make soap, furnishes little besides carbon and 

 hydrogen, which can be obtained from air and water. Soap-suds, which have 

 been used for washing clothes, doubtless contain a small quantity of ammoniacal 

 matter, excreted from the body by perspiration, the presence of which in soiled 

 clothes is evident to the nose. Then, too, there is the animal or vegetable fibre 

 from washing woollen or cotton clothes, which, as it decays, will afford food for 

 plants. Of course both these last-named sources can afford but a small quan- 

 tity of plant food, but no doubt the plants find every particle of it, and so far as 

 it goes it is valuable. Still the chief value of the soap-suds is the potash. 



The Zinnia in Texas. — Many flowers in this latitude seem to improve, 

 showing decided progress. I imported some zinnias from France two years ago 

 the past season. They were very superior — creamy white for several weeks, 

 then changed to rose color as the seed ripened. Some of the colors had quilled 

 petals, others narrow, twisted petals, seeming quite a distinct type. Besides the 

 white there were yellow, scarlet, rose, crimson, and many varieties of shade and 

 color, rivalling in bloom the dahlia. Zinnias commence blooming here in May, 

 and continue until November. The color seems to improve with cold weather. 



S. E. B. 



Clear Creek Station, Galveston Co., Texas. 



