The Thorn Apple. 141 



most obvious symptoms were a peculiar noise in respiration, in- 

 dicating some difficulty ; a heavy, deep sleep, from which it was 

 impossible to rouse them ; a slow and full pulse, and cool skin, 

 without any perspiration ; when the lids of the eyes were lifted, 

 a converging squint was strikingly perceptible ; they were lying 

 in this state then about twelve hours. As they had complained 

 of considerable sickness at the stomach before sleep was induced, 

 we followed out the indications of nature in prescribing a powerful 

 Jose of Ipecac ; in a little while this operated, and, together with 

 the warm bath, prompt application of mustard poultices to the 

 feet, thighs, &c, they recovered in about four hours. No unfa- 

 vorable effects remained, and before night they were all racing 

 the streets ready for another mishap. 



The Datura Stramonium — Thorn Apple, is an annual plant, 

 from three to five, and sometimes seven feet in height, varying 

 with the quality of the soil, as it is of rank and vigorous growth. 

 The root is very large, light colored, and ha3 numerous fibres ; 

 it sends up a straight, smooth stem, which, though simple below, 

 is repeatedly forked above, and in the large plants, hollow. The 

 leaves, the short round stalks of which come out from the forks 

 of the stem, are from four to six inches in length, of a dark green 

 color on the upper surface, and much paler beneath, somewhat 

 triangular in shape, and irregularly toothed on the margins. 

 The flowers are very large, solitary, standing on short foot-stalks, 

 which come out from the angle formed by the leaf and branch ; 

 the calyx is five-angled, tube-shaped, supporting a funnel-shaped 

 blossom, with a long tube and plaited border, which terminates 

 in fine awl-shaped teeth. There are two varieties common with 

 us, one having green stems and white flowers ; and a dark red- 

 dish stem, minutely dotted with green and purplish flowers, 

 striped with deep purple on the inside, which latter is the D. 

 Tatula, of Linnaeus, as Dr. Smith, upon examining the herba- 

 rium of Linnajus, found it was merely a variety of the other. 

 The base of the flower-cup, after the other parts fall off, unites 

 with the germen and becomes a part of the fruit. The capsule 

 is four-valved and four-celled, oval-shaped, large and fleshy, 

 and contains a great number of seeds, which, when ripe, are 

 thrown out in all directions, and should make us very careful 

 how we let it grow near our doors and gardens, for then it will 

 be almost impossible to extirpate them. All parts of the plant 



