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berries remain on the tree until the spring- dowers appear. The 

 leaves, the bark and the berries have similar properties of those of 

 the common privet. 



The poison sumac, poison elder (Rhus venenata) is a tall shrub 

 with pinnate leaves composed of eleven or thirteen smootish leaflets. 

 It has whitish papery looking berries. It was once considered iden- 

 tical with a species of Rhus which grows in Japan and furnishes a 

 black varnish. The opaque whitish fluid which exudes from it be- 

 comes black on exposure, and may be made to yield a durable, glossy 

 varnish by sufficiently cooling it before it is applied. It is exceed- 

 ingly poisonous to some persons who come in contact with it. 



Horticultural, Agricultural, and Medicinal Plant*. 



The hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis) is a well-known genus of 

 very handsome lilaceous bulbs. It is a native of the East, and has 

 been cultivated from time immerncrial as one of the prettiest early 

 spring flowers of the gardens. 



Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is a perennial and herbaceous 

 plant ; it is a native of several places in England, on the sea coast. 

 The steppes of Southern Russia and Poland are covered with this 

 plant, and it is eaten by horses and cattle like grass. It is also com- 

 mon in Greece and was esteemed as a culinary vegetable by the 

 Greeks and Romans. It appears to have been cultivated in the time 

 of Cato the Elder, 200 years B. C, and Pling mentions a variety 

 that grew in his time near Ravenna, of which three heads would 

 weigh a pound. In this country it is considered as one of the most 

 delicate of our culinary vegetables. The part of the plant used is 

 about six or eight inches of the young shoot, which is considered 

 to be fit for cutting when it has emerged two or three inches out of 

 the grouud, and has a firm, compact, roundish point, of a fine green 

 color, slightly tinged with purple. Before the young shoots are 

 boiled they have a disagreeable taste, due to a crystallizable princi- 

 ple called esparagin which produces sedative effects on the circula- 

 tion. When properly prepared it is a wholesome and very useful 

 article of diet. In medicine it is well known for its diuretic proper- 

 ties. It has been found beneficial in gravel and dropsey. The seeds 

 have been dried as a substitute for coffee, which, when roasted or 

 parched like coffee, they are said to resemble in flavor. 





