DWALE, ITS USE AND ABUSE 207 



The flowers of the dwale are of considerable 

 size, bell-shaped, and of a dull purple. The plant 

 is a strong narcotic, but the berries are especially 

 potent in their operation. As they are somewhat 

 suggestive of cherries, numerous cases of poisoning 

 are recorded against them. By some astounding 

 negligence a quantity of these ripe berries were 

 sent up to London in the year 1846 as an article of 

 food, and several persons fell victims to the experi- 

 ment. This reminds one rather of the man who 

 was seen gathering an assortment of poisonous 

 fungi under the impression that they were mush- 

 rooms, or at all events their equivalents, for com- 

 mercial purposes. On being warned that he would 

 certainly kill himself if he ate any of them, he 

 thanked his kindly informant, but said that he was 

 not gathering them for himself at all, but sold them 

 up at the hotel ! 



In medical practice the dwale is frequently 

 employed to alleviate pain, but its greatest value 

 arises from its curious property of causing a great 

 dilation of the pupil of the eye when a little of the 

 extract is painted on the eyelid a property that is 

 often of much service to the oculist in dealing with 

 various diseases of the eye. Belladonna liniment 

 often proves most efficacious in the relief of pains 

 in the muscles, and a plaster of belladonna is often 

 used to relieve the twinges of lumbago. The tinc- 

 ture too is employed to advantage in easing the 



