THE GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS. 



occasions not only pain, but illness, which lasts 

 for days. Another species, ( Urtica urentissima,) 

 growing in the island of Timor, and called by 

 the natives " Devil's leaf," is so poisonous, that 

 its sting produces long illness, its effects last- 

 ing for a whole year, and sometimes even 

 death is the result. Leschenault de la Tour 

 thus describes the effect of gathering Urtica 

 crenulata, at Calcutta : " One of the leaves 

 slightly touched the first three fingers of my 

 left hand ; at the time I only perceived a slight 

 pricking, to which I paid no attention. The 

 pain continued to increase ; in an hour it had 

 become intolerable ; it seemed as if some one 

 were rubbing my fingers with a hot iron. 

 Nevertheless no inflammatory pustule, or swell- 

 ing, was to be seen. The pain spread rapidly 

 along the arm, as far as the arm-pit. I was 

 then seized with frequent sneezing, and a co- 

 pious running from the nose, as if I had caught 

 a violent cold. About noon I experienced a 

 painful contraction at the back of the jaws, 

 which made me fear an attack of tetanus. I 

 then went to bed, hoping that repose would 

 alleviate my suffering, but it did not abate ; 

 on the contrary, it continued nearly the whole 

 of the following night, but I lost the contrac- 

 tion of the jaws about seven in the evening. 

 The next morning the pain began to leave me, 

 and I fell asleep. I continued to suffer for two 

 days, and the pain returned in full force when 

 1 1 put my hand into water. I did not finally 

 lose it for nine days." A similar circumstance 



