PLANTS. 373 



Nightshade, Aconite ; of the acrid narcotic, Monk's 

 Hood, Hemlock, Tobacco, Digitalis, and Stramonium 

 Apple. 



The symptoms attending the operations of the simply 

 sharp or acrid poisons are commonly pain, inflammation, 

 and redness of the throat, difficulty of swallowing, great 

 nausea and thirst, in short there is a general disturbance 

 of the whole system. When the operation is at its full 

 height, the face is pale and the features sunken, and ex- 

 pressive of great anxiety ; the eyes are surrounded with 

 blue circles, the breath is short, the voice fails, cold 

 sweats and faintings ensue, and, with slight convulsions, 

 death ends the scene. 



The operation of the narcotic poisons is different ; 

 heaviness of the head, dimness of sight, deafness, giddi- 

 ness, stupor, delirium, often very violent ; the face is 

 sometimes inflamed, at others very pale ; the eyes have a 

 fixed and vacant look, the pupils at intervals dilated or 

 sunken, and the pulses of the neck and brow are very 

 full and quick ; cramp of the muscles, spasms, tetanus ; 

 in short, a general paralysis ensues, which only ends 

 when death comes, which, in such cases, is mostly with 

 convulsions or apoplexy. As nausea is seldom present, 

 therefore emetics are not only useless, but hard to bring 

 into operation. The plan of treatment in either case 

 must be modified according to the nature of the poison 

 and symptoms of the case, as well as a proper under- 

 standing of the constitution to be operated upon. Many 

 remedies are resorted to for counteracting the effect of 

 the poison, but as it is best to resort to medical aid at 

 once, we shall only suggest a few domestic simples, 

 which can be used in cases where a physician can not be 

 had at once. In the first stage, warm water, plentifully 



