178 OSiober 1748. 



woods, and its branches flioot out every 

 where little roots, which faften upon 

 the tree and as it were enter into it. 

 When the ftem is cut, it emits a pale 

 brown fap of a difagreeable fcent. This 

 fap is fo fharp that the letters and charac- 

 ters made upon linnen with it, cannot be 

 got out again, but grow blacker the more 

 the cloath is wafhed. Boys commonly 

 marked their names on their linnen with 

 this juice. If you write with it on paper, 

 the letters never go out, but grow blacker 

 from time to time. 



This fpecies of Sumach has the fame 

 noxious qualities as the poifonous fumach, 

 or Poifon-tree, which I have above defcribed, 

 being poifonous to fome peo'ple, though 

 not to every one. Therefore all that has 

 been faid of the poifon tree is likewife ap- 

 plicable to this ; excepting that the former 

 has the ftronger poifon. However I have 

 feen people who have been as much fwelled 

 from the noxious exhalations of the latter, 

 as they could have been from thofe of the 

 former. I likewife know, that of two lif- 

 ters, the one could manage the tree without 

 being affeded by its venom, though the 

 other immediately felt it as foon as the ex- 

 halations of the tree came near her, or 

 when ever ihe came a yard too near the 



tree. 



