The Natural System of Botany. 175 



Blood-root, Sanguinaria Ca?iadcnsk, a neat early spring flower, 

 "th a single ^ ar ^ e ren '^ orm l ea *» anc ' a scape bearing a single 

 white fl° wcr - Its J uicc is very dark colorecl » nearly red, and is 

 emetic and purgative. Its pod is oblong, and acute at each end. 

 There is a genus, Chryseis, which comes from California 

 and Oregon, one or two species of which, under the name of 

 Escholtzia, are commonly cultivated in gardens, which presents 

 a curious anomaly. The flower, before it expands, is enclosed 

 in a pointed green sheath, which is pushed up as the petals 

 open, and at length falls off. This extinguisher-like organ is 

 somewhat puzzling at first, but if examined, is found to be the 

 calvx, the two sepals of which have grown together so firmly 

 that they will not separate, in the usual manner, to admit, of the 

 expansion of the flower, and since it must be got rid of in some 

 ff ay, its attachment to the receptacle is made so loose, that it 

 separates all round at that point. Similar instances of the 

 adhesion of two parts which grow near each other, are not 

 uncommon in plants, and sometimes prove difficult of explana- 

 tion. 



All the Papaveraceae possess narcotic properties in more or 

 less intensity, but these properties are only manifested by 

 those parts which yield the milky juice. The seeds abound 

 in a kind of oil, which is much used in the manufacture of 

 varnishes, on account of its being colorless, and drying easily. 

 This oil does not partake of the narcotic quality, though the 

 capsules, before they are ripe, supply the largest quantities of 

 the milky juice from which opium is derived. There is a syrup, 

 well known to nurses, under the name of White Poppy Syrup, 

 by the effects of which, when improperly administered, there 

 is no doubt that the lives of many infants have been lost, and 

 equally fatal effects have been produced by some popular 

 medicines, as Godfrey's Cordial, in the composition of which 

 opium forms a large proportion. It ought to be known that 

 infants are far more susceptible of the influence of narcotics, 

 than of that of other medicines, so that these should never be 

 administered except under the direction of a competent physi- 

 cian. 



All the Papaveracea? belong to the Linnaean class and 

 order, Polyandria, Monogynia. 



