584 KEP0RT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



harmless, nevertheless such a large proportion of them contain an 

 acrid; narcotic poison that it is wise to avoid eating any portion of 

 wild plants which possess the characters given above. 



Another family, many members of which contain poisonous ele- 

 ments, is the potato family. The poisonous element in this family is 

 usually a narcotic alkaloid. The poison may be distributed throughout 

 the plant, or, as more commonly the case in the plants of this family 

 in our area, be fairly well limited to leaf and seed. Familiar examples 

 are the nightshade, Jimson-weed and horse-nettle. The plants of this 

 family may be recognized by their coarse habit, the rank odor exhaled 

 by their foliage when crushed, and by the flower, which, in most of the 

 wild species, closely resembles that of the common potato. 



Many other plants which are poisonous, if taken internally, possess 

 an acrid or bitter juice which prevents their being eaten in excess. 

 The great majority of cases of poisoning of this type reported as 

 having occurred in the State have been caused by the mingling of the 

 hurtful forms with those usually collected for "greens." This gather- 

 ing is usually delegated to children, and it is little wonder that serious 

 results at times occur, when we recall the fact that a plant may differ 

 greatly in general appearance in its immature and mature stages. In 

 view of the ease with which greens may be raised in the vegetable 

 garden, this seeking after the less palatable wild forms is without the 

 shadow of an excuse. 



Very few of our wild fruits are seriously poisonous. In almost every 

 case the unpalatability of the form prevents the eating of a sufficient 

 quantity to produce fatal or even serious results. While there may be 

 a temptation to taste an attractive looking wild fruit, the taste is 

 usually sufficient to preclude any danger of over-indulgence. The 

 danger of poisoning from wild fruits is very greatly exaggerated in the 

 popular mind. 



The prevailing idea that poisonous plants have something repulsive 

 in their appearance which serves to put even the unwary on their 

 guard against them is not borne out by facts. Many of our poisonous 

 plants of both types are among our most beautiful native forms. The 

 best protection against dangers from plants of this character is to be 

 found in a knowledge of the life forms which surround us, a practical 

 sort of knowledge which has been very strangely omitted from the 

 courses of study in many schools. As intelligence increases the 

 amount of danger to human beings from plant poisoning becomes less 

 and less. Indeed, it is now reduced to such an extent as to scarcely 

 deserve comment. In the case of stock, however, conditions are dif- 



