- 2 Pa, 
1194 _ ALNUS. [CLASS XXI. ORDER Iv. 
description of the sting of the Urtica crenulata, from gathering a 
specimen in the Botanical Garden, 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, This 
was at seven in the morning. The pain continued to increase; in an 
hour it had become intolerable ; it seemed as if some one was 
rubbing my fingers with a hot iron, nevertheless, there was no re- 
markable appearance; neither swelling, nor pustule, nor inflamma- 
tion. ‘The pain rapidly spread along the arm as far as the arm-pit. 
I was then seized with frequent sneezing, and with a copious 
running at the nose, as if I had caught a violent cold in the head. 
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 sufferings; but it did not 
abate ; on the contrary, it continued during nearly the whole of the 
following night ; but I lost the contraction 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 re- 
turned in full force when I put my hand in water. I did not finally 
loose it for nine days.” Another dangerous species is mentioned by 
the same Botanist, which he found at Java, U. stimulans ; but the 
most virulent of any other is that of the Devil’s leaf, davum setan, a 
native of Timor ; its effects are said by the natives to last for a year, 
and even to cause death. 
The tops of the young common Nettles are gathered in the spring in 
many parts of the country, and made into porridge, and is a popular 
remedy for the cure of scurvy, or other eruptious on the skin, It 
seems also to have been cultivated as a culinary vegetable, especially 
in Scotland. The roots of U. dioica, boiled with alum, dyes yarn of a 
yellow colour, and the stems are prepared and furnish a strong fibrous 
substance, the same as Hemp. ‘The larva of numerous insects feed 
upon the leaves, and the plants do not flourish unless nitrate of potass 
is a component part of the soil. 
GENUS XII. AL’NUS.—Tovurn. Alder. 
Nat. Ord. Brrunin’Ex. RicuH. 
Gen. Cuan. Flowers in imbricated catkins. Barren flowers elong- 
ated, cilindrical catkins, with cordate scales, pedicellated, and 
with three small scales beneath them, bearing stamens from the 
base. Perianth single, four partite. Fertile flowers roundish 
ovate catkins, the scales sub-trifid, two flowered, coriaceous, and 
persistent. Perianthwanting. Stigmastwo, Fruit compressed, 
ovate, two celled, cach cell two seeded.—Name derived from the 
Celtic words al, near, and lan, the river-bank. 
