48 



The Wild Onion (Allium Canadenw. j has been found nowhere else - 

 except in West Baton Rouge. The medicinal ettect of the bulb of 

 the wild onion is stimulant. It may be used in catarrhal affections 

 of children, and in nervous and spasmodic coughs, in the form of a 

 syrup. When bruised and applied to the feet, it is useful in febrile 

 complaints of children, by quieting restlessness and producing sleep. 



The Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinally) grows everywhere in 

 Louisiana, in low marshy lands. Its showy crimson flowers render 

 it well worthy of cultivation as a garden plant, far more attractive 

 than some of the worthless exotics that fill the greenhouses. Its 

 root is supposed to possess anthelmintic properties. 



The Sheep Sorrel (Oxahs xtricta), with its delicate yellow flowers, 

 is very widely diffused in the United States. It has an agreeable, 

 sour taste, which is due to oxalic acid, combined with potash, which 

 it contains. It is a refrigerant, and an infusion or whey made by 

 boiling it in milk, is a pleasant drink in febrile and inflammatory 

 affections. 



The Purselane (Portalacca oleracea) is a succulent plant, with 

 small yellow flowers, and grows in cultivated grounds. It has an 

 hei baceous, slightly saline taste, and is often used as greens, being 

 boiled with meat or other vegetables. 



The Yellow Dock (Eumex crispa) is a naturalized plant, originally 

 derived from Europe. Its root is used medicinally. It is astringent, 

 gently tonic, and is supposed to possess alterative properties, which 

 render it useful in scorbutic disorders and cutaneous eruptions, 

 particularly the itch. The powdered root is recommended as a 

 tooth powder, especially where the gums are spongy. 



The leaves of the Water pepper (Polygonum hydropiperoides) 

 and of the Smart weed (Polygonum acre) ha\e a sharp and biting 

 taste, and are used as applications to ulcers, and are applied to the 

 gums in mercurial salivation. 



The Pokeweed (Phytolacca decandra) grows not only in waste 

 places around fences, and in cultivated ground, but in the depth 

 of the woods in the marsh lands in St. Mary's parish, where it 

 reaches the height of from ten to fifteen feet. The young shoots 

 are often used in early spring, and boiled in the manner of spinage. 

 The berries contain a succulent pulp, and yield upon pressure a 

 large quantity of a fine purplish red juice. They have a sweetish, 

 nauseous, slightly acrid taste. The coloring principle is evanescent, 



