HEATH FAMILY. 18 
Cattle, sheep, horses and goats have died from eating 
the leaves, Kalmia latifolia probably causing most deaths. 
Care should be taken to avoid laurel thickets when herd- 
ing animals in spring, as the evergreen leaves are tempt- 
ing. 
Cases of human poisoning arise from the use of con- 
taminated meat or honey, from overdoses in “home 
made” medicine, and from mistaking the young shoots 
for those of wintergreen. The leaves have been used to 
increase the intoxicating effect of liquors, sometimes with 
disastrous results. 
Irregular breathing is a very characteristic symptom. 
In addition we have persistent nausea, salivation and 
grating of the teeth, together with dizziness 
and loss of sight and feeling. Stupor and death 
follow. In man there is intense headache, perspiration, 
tingling in the skin, and much vomiting. 
As antidotes for the poison, Chesnut suggests atropin 
or strychnin. He recommends also the use 
of oil, fat or melted lard when symptoms 
are first noted. 
The Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia L., is found on 
rocky hills and dry slopes from the eastern coast to 
Ontario and southward. Miss Fyles quotes 
Barton, who wrote in 1798 that this species 
was poisonous to animals and was used by Indians as a 
means of suicide. In Canada it is a shrub, usually not 
more than six feet high, but grows much larger in some 
parts farther south. The evergreen, short-petioled, 
usually alternate leaves are ovate-lanceolate or oblong, 
thick, and bright green on both sides. The beautiful 
pink flowers are flat with a raised edge and depressions 
for the anthers of the ten stamens. They are one-half 
Symptoms 
Treatment 
The Plants 
