COMPOSITAE THISTLE FAMILY WORMWOOD 793 



although the latter do not relish the plant. The inhalation of the dried powder 

 of the plant causes violent sneezing. Chesnut and Wilcox, in speaking of the 

 sage brush of Montana, say that some species are recognized by stockmen 

 as valuable forage plants for the late fall and winter grazing. Various species 

 are suspected in Montana of being poisonous to stock, but no specific cases 

 have been reported to the department. At Toston in May, 1900, it was noticed 

 that the terminal branchlets of A. tridentata had all been eaten off from a con- 

 siderable number of plants. 



A. Absinthium L. Common Wormwood. Absinth. 



A shrubby, silky, hairy plant from 2-3 feet high ; leaves 2-3 pinnately parted, 

 the lobes lanceolate, obtuse; heads in racemose panicles, nodding yellow, mar- 

 ginal flowers pistillate, fertile or sterile, central flowers fertile; involucre 

 hemispherical outer bracts linear. 



Distribution. Native to the old world but escaped from gardens and found 

 along roadsides. From Newfoundland to Massachusetts and North Carolina; 

 occasionally westward to Wisconsin and Montana. 



Poisonous properties. Wormwood is a stimulant and tonic and has been 

 employed chiefly for digestive disorders, although seldom used medicinally. 

 The volatile oil of wormwood in large doses produces cerebral disorders, con- 

 vulsions and even death. The well-known absinthe is made from this plant 

 and used with alcoholic drinks. For this purpose the plant is extensively cul- 

 tivated in Europe and to some extent, in Nebraska, Michigan and Wisconsin. 

 Absinthe contains the principle absinthin C ]5 H 20 O 4 . Dr. Rusby, in speaking 

 of absinthe says that absinthium is in a general way similaf in composition and 

 properties as a poison to Tanacetum vulgare though the symptoms are more 

 largely cerebral. Neither is it liable to be taken except for medicinal pur- 

 poses or as an addition to spirits. As a result of the latter, poisoning is 

 usually chronic and extremely difficult to cure. Dr. Millspaugh reports the 

 experience of a clerk who took about a half ounce of the oil; he was found 

 on the floor perfectly insensible, convulsed, and foaming at the mouth; shortly 

 afterward the convulsions ceased, the patient remained insensible with the 

 jaws locked, pupils dilated, pulse weak, and stomach retching. After causing 

 free emesis and applying stimulants, the man recovered, but could not remember 

 how or when he had taken the drug. According to Dr. Legrand, the effects 

 prominent in absinthe drinkers are : Derangement of the digestive organs, 

 intense thirst, restlessness, vertigo, tingling in the ears, and illusions of sight 

 and hearing. These are followed by tremblings in the arms, hands, and legs, 

 numbness of the extremities, loss of muscular power, delirium, loss of intellect, 

 general paralysis, and death. Dr. Magnan, who had a great number of absinthe 

 drinkers under his care, and who performed many experiments with the liquor 

 upon animals, states that peculiar epileptic attacks result, which he has called 

 "absinthe epilepsy." 



Post-Mortem. Great congestion of the cerbro-spinal vessels, of the meninges 

 of the brain, extreme hyperaemia of the medulla oblongata, injection of the 

 vessels of the cord, with suffusion of the cord itself. The stomach, endocardi- 

 um, and pericardium show small ecchymoses. 



Absinthe is sometimes added to hops to make beer more exhilirating. 



A. vulgaris L. Common Mugwort 

 Tall, branching perennial with fine and closely appressed hairs ; leaves mostly 



