LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



U. S. Department of Agriculture, 



Division of Botany, 

 Washington, D. <?., December 20, 1897. 



Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication as a 

 bulletin of this division a manuscript on the "Principal Poisonous 

 Plants of the United States." In the annual report of the Botanist for 

 1894 was emphasized the importance of doing something to lessen the 

 increasing number of fatal cases of poisoning due to carelessness or to 

 a lack of correct knowledge of our poisonous plants, and as a result the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, in November, 1894, appointed Mr. Y. K. 

 Chesnut as an assistant in the Division of Botany to take charge of 

 such a line of work. In addition to the chemical and physiological 

 investigations which have since been in progress, it has seemed desira- 

 ble to distribute at once some simple but authoritative account of our 

 commonest poisonous plants. In the prosecution of this work a novel 

 method of securing correct information about actual cases of poisoning 

 has been adopted. Through newspaper clipping bureaus the Division 

 of Botany receives notices of all the cases of poisoning that are recorded 

 in the principal newspapers. Then, through the persons mentioned 

 by name in these articles or through the local postmaster, we get into 

 correspondence with the physician in charge of the case, secure a speci- 

 men of the inant which is responsible for the poisoning, and place on 

 file a complete record of the symptoms, treatment, and results. By 

 this means we have secured a large amount of authentic and valuable 

 information, additional to the published statements, the partial benefit 

 of which is given to the people in this publication, and the remainder 

 of which will be used from time to time in more detailed publications 

 on the poisonous qualities of particular plants. 



The plants which have been considered, about fifty in number, include 

 most of the important poisonous species. Each is illustrated, wherever 

 necessary, by an original drawing from authentic specimens, and is 

 briefly described in a popular way. This, together with the liberal 

 use of common names and a brief outline of the geographical distri- 

 bution, will doubtless enable individuals in different localities to recog- 

 nize any of the plants. For general educational purposes it has been 

 thought best to follow the scientific classification. 



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