21S 



POISONOUS PLANTS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF TORONTO. 



[1853. 



diffusioE of more correct ideas — of more accurate kno\Yledge of 

 it, especially in the mother country. Conscious, as we may well 

 be, of our growing strength and rapid advancement, it is, never- 

 theless, true and, perhaps, a little mortifying, to iiud much mis- 

 apprehension — 1 had almost said ignorance — respecting even the 

 very geography of the Province, existing in England. Were 

 this contiued to the less educated classes we should not so much 

 wonder, and were the instance of it of an early date, and before 

 correct information was easily attainably, we should not have any 

 j'ight to complain ; but the fact is otherwise, as two instances I 

 shall select wiU abundantly show. Half a century had elapsed 

 from the time that Burke spoke of the " bleak and bari-en regions 

 of Canada," before the publication of the last volume of that 

 highly esteemed and valuable work, Alison's History of Eui'ope, 

 and t\om that volume I make the following extract: — " The first 

 operations of the campaign in Canada proved singularly unfortu- 

 nate to the Americans. In the end of January, Cen. Winchester 

 with a thousand men, crossed over to attack Port Detroit, in the 

 Upper Province, and before any force could be assembled to re- 

 sist him, made himself master of French Town, twenty-six miles 

 from that place. General Proctor, however, who commanded 

 the Biitish forces in that c^uarter, no sooner heaid of this iri-up- 

 tion than he hastily assembled a bod}' of 500 regulars and 

 militia, being the Glengariy Fencibles, and 600 Indians, and 

 commenced an attack upon the invaders two days afterwards in 

 the fort of Ogdensburgh." To those acquainted with the events 

 alluded to, or with the places mentioned, it is unnecessary to 

 point out the errore which this passage contains. To some it 

 may be useful to explain that General Winchester's advance upon 

 Detroit was made in the (now) State of Michigan, which, though 

 at that moment in the British possession, was ne\'ertheless Ameri- 

 can territory, — that Fort Detroit, not long before captured by Sir 

 Isa:ic 'Brock, is in Michigan, on the same side of the river — 

 which there forms the boundary of Upper Canada — as General 

 Winchester was marching on, — that Fort Detroit is neaily at the 

 ■western extremity of Lake Erie, in which part of the country 

 Colonel Proctor then commanded the British forces, — while the 

 attack in which the Glengarry Fencibles bore so distinguished a 

 part, and which resulted in the capture of the American position 

 at Ogdensbui'g, was under the command of a ditterent officer, — 

 and that Ogdensburg is situated on the river St. Lawrence, at a 

 distance exceeding the whole length of both Lakes Erie and 

 Ontario from the scene of General Winchestej-'s capture. A i-e- 

 ferenee to the Annual Register for 1813, which is cited in the 

 work as the authority for this passage, shows clearly enough that 

 this error has arisen from blending into one, as if relating to the 

 same events, two entirely distinct transactions, and, no doubt, 

 rests with some transcriber employed by this eloi]^uent and usually 

 accurate historian. 



Again, in another work, the second edition of wliich was pub- 

 lished as late as 1845, by a gentleman who now holds the rank 

 of Queen's Counsel, and whose pen has acipiired for him a de- 

 served I'eputation in works founded on otln^r than ]>rofessional 

 subjects. The following ])assage occure: — " Tluis the waters 

 which might at first have been seen forming part of the magni- 

 ficent contluenco of Niagara, and then prccijiitateil amid clouds of 

 mist and foam down its tremendous falls, and after passing over 

 great tracts of country through innumevable channels and rivu- 

 lets, serve at length quietly to turn the peasant's mill." A pas- 

 sage which, however well written, is nevertheless, a complete 

 inversion of the facts since the watere which are precipitated over 

 the Falls of Niagara flow onward, gallniring as they go through 

 Lake Ontaiio and the River St. l^awrence, the additions of many 

 a tributary sti'cam, but never diverge into any other channel in 

 their downward course, until they expand into the Gul[)h and 

 become mingled in the wide Atlantic waves. 



It would be eas_y, especially if account was taken of the jnis- 

 taken ideas I'especting Canada, of individuals of less standing and 

 pretension, to nudtijily such instiinces, but enough has been said 

 to shew the necessity of ditfusing more accurate infoi'mation as a 

 corrective of the past, ai.d as a means of prevention for the i'uture. 



I cannot quit the sidiject without availing myselfof this fitting- 

 occasion to express what I am sure is equally felt by all jiresent. 

 My sense of the obligations we owe to our President for his 

 active exertions in support of, and his valuable contributions to the 

 jtroceedings of the Canadian Institute. In leaving Upper Cana- 

 da, he will, I am certain, carry with him our best wishes for his 

 happiness and pi'ospeiity, not unaccompanied with the hope that 

 we may be able at son^e future period to welcome his return 

 among us, and to lienefit by the I'enewal of his co-operation in 

 the proceedings of the Society. Convinced of the excellence of 

 the objects of the Canadian Institute, I rejoice at its present suc- 

 cess and its future jirospects. A diligent j)ursuit alter, and a 

 fitting employment of knowledge when gained, cannot fail to ex- 

 ercise an elevating influence in our relations to each other, and to 

 lead to just conceptions of our respective duties in the vanous 

 walks of life. We shall more piactically feel that it is not for 

 ourselves only, but fur our fellows, that we are called upon to 

 think and act, while we strive for our individual impro\ement. 

 We sliall strive also to communicate to others the benefit cif what 

 we attain, thus approximating the lofty character of those who, 



"With God himself 

 Hold converse, grow familiar day by day. 

 With Iiis conceptions, act upon lus plan. 

 And form to his tlie relish of our souls." 



On the Poisonous Plants which are indigenous to, or which 

 have become naturalized, in the neighbourhood of Toronto, 

 by EdAvard W. Hodder, M. C & M. R. C. S., Professor of 

 Obstetiics, &c., in the Univirsity of Triiiily College. 



[Contiuued from Page 204.J 



I' Read at the Annual Conversazione of the Canadian Institute.) 



iTth. Lobelia Inflata Indian Tobacco. 



Class Pentandria Order Monogyuia. 



This pretty plant varies in height from ."ix inches to two or 

 three feet. 



The stem is erect, angular and hairy ; the leaves scattered, oval> 

 sinua:e, veined and hail}'. The flowers in spikes, corolla bluish 

 ])urplc, the tube prismatic and olett aboie, the segments spread- 

 ing, two above lanceolate, the three lower ones oval. 



The whole plant operates as a violent emetic. 



The last three plants are exceedingly pungent to the taste, and 

 in largo doses are narcotico acrid poisons. It is said that in 

 teaspoonfiil doses of the powder', they ha\e proved fatal in five 

 hours, where vomiting has not been pi'oduced. When chewed 

 incautiously, they protluco .an insu]iportaliIe sense of burning and 

 distension, which extends down the gullet; nausea ensues, and 

 vomiting genei-ally follows, accompanied with oppressive prostra- 

 tion, languor of the pulse, and sweating. 



Their acrid taste and emetic qualities, howevei', pro\e their 

 safeguard; for, it is impossible to cat the ]ilants in sulliciei.t 

 (piantities to jtroduce death, and which can only be occasioned by 

 an extreme dose taken by mistake. 



18th. Dracontium Fa'tidum, or Setodc5 ) „, , ri 1 1 



,, ,., ' y Skunk Cabbage. 



I' tetidus. J =■ 



Class IV.-.. ..Order L 



