314 CORRESPONDENCE OF RAY. 



history drawn up by a person, who is at present his 

 brother-in-law, concerning the eflFects of it upon himself 

 and seven other young men, who ignorantly mistaking it 

 for Siiim aquaticiim, or Apiumpalustre, did eat of it. 



" Eight young lads went one afternoon a fishing to a 

 brook in this county, and there meeting with a great 

 parcel of GEnanthe aquatica siicco viroso (in Irish Tahoiv), 

 they mistook the roots of it for Siuni aquaticiim roots, and 

 did eat a great deal of them. About four or five hours 

 after going home, the eldest of them, who was almost of 

 man's statm'C, without the least previous appearing dis- 

 order or complaint, on a sudden fell down backward, and 

 lay kicking and sprawling on the ground. His counte- 

 nance soon turned very ghastly, and he foamed at the 

 mouth. Soon after four more were seized the same way, 

 and they all died before morning, not one of them having 

 spoken a word from the moment in which the venenate 

 particles surprised the ^enus nervosum. Of the other 

 three, one run stark mad, but came to his right reason 

 again the next morning. Another had his hair and nails 

 fall off", and the third (who is my brother-in-law) alone 

 escaped without receiving any harm. Wliether he eat 

 less of this fatal root, or whether his constitution, which is 

 to this day very athletic, occasioned it, I cannot tell, 

 though I am of opinion that his speedy running about two 

 miles home after that he saw the first young man fall, 

 together with his drinking a very large draught of milk, 

 warm from the coav, in his midway, were of singular use 

 to him. For his violent sweating did doubtless expel and 

 carry off many of the venenose particles, and had a better 

 eflFect than the best of our alexipharmics (which you know 

 are generally diaphoretic) might have produced in this 

 case. Besides, I believe the draught of warm milk did 

 act its part by involving the acid or acrimonious poisonous 

 particles, and rendering them inactive, and preventing 

 their seizing the genus nervosum till they were expelled 

 per diaphoresm. But this is but my conjecture, which I 

 willingly submit to more mature judgments. This hap- 



