292 



UNITED STATES. 



tree of the Japanese; he found that the greatest 

 quantity oi juice v/as '/btained h om incisions made 

 in the tree about the middle of May. 



R, radtcans, poison vine, poison creeper, has a 

 slender ascending stem, and frequently climbs up to 

 the top of our tallest trees. The flowers are pro- 

 duced along the whole course of the smaller branches; 

 they are small, are of alight yellow colour, and have 

 a delightful odour. 



The two last, viz. r. vernix^ and r. radicans^ are 

 highly poisonous, and are particularly active in warm 

 weather ; after a meal ; and when the part touching 

 the leaves is moist with sweat. 



The r. vernix is more violent than the other spe » 

 cies, and affects, 1. by its effluvium ; 2. by its smoke 

 when burning; 3. by contact ; 4. by steam of a de- 

 coction of the plant. The poison induces an inflam>» 

 matory ei^uption in the skin, attended by pain, swel- 

 ling, itching, and fever. The eruption sometimes 

 ends in suppuration, and ulceration. The above 

 symptoms are apt to return periodically, for the 

 course of even ten years. 



So deleterious is the effluvium of this plant, that 

 a swarm of bees was killed by attaching themselves 

 to a branch of it, and by being covered with a box 

 for a few hours, the bees were swelled one-third 

 beyond their ordinary size, and were turned black.* 



The remedies are blood-letting, when the symp- 

 toms are violent, smart purging, especially by sea^ 

 naater. Cold water, or ice, or a solution of cottq* 



* James Somerville, Esq. of New York, Med, RepoB. HeKad,?^ 

 ^Ol. iii. 



