JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST. 137 



River, where one may indulge -in a refreshing bath 

 on a hot July day, I pass through a belt of shrubbery 

 so thick with bedstraw that the odor is overpowering, 

 and advance is checked by the sticky vine which at 

 every point catches on one's clothing. 



Poiaon Ivy. On the meadows which border the 



Bhus Toxicodendron, same rivcr Will be seen, all through 

 the summer, the drooping three-leafed vine called 

 poison ivy, or mercury: Gray says it is a vile 

 pest, and I perfectly agree with his estimate of its 

 character. It poisons some people dreadfully. Al- 

 though I had many a time touched the leaves with 

 xny fingers without experiencing any ill effect, at last 

 came a miserable experience : a bit of the wretched 

 plant came in contact with the more sensitive skin, 

 which is very different from the callous cuticle of the 

 finger-tips, and the poison began to act like fire a few 

 days afterward ; nothing but cloths saturated with 

 Pond's Extract (witch-hazel) seemed to be of any use 

 in alleviating the burning, itching sensation. But 

 some persons are poisoned by even passing through a 

 district where the ivy grows ; so it is best to avoid it al- 

 together. Curiously enough, an extract of Rhus Toxi- 

 codendron is a homoeopathic specific for skin diseases. 

 It has a very smooth, fresh green leaf, with an un- 

 varnished surface, which always occurs in threes, and 



therefore should not be mistaken for the Virginia 

 10 



