Ixiv 



INTRODUCTION. 



bark called cascarilla is produced by a shrub be- 

 longing to this order, Croton Eleutheria, a native 

 of the Bahamas, and by other species of Croton 

 indigenous to the West Indies and South Ame- 

 rica, Croton oil is the product of Croton Tiglium, 

 and is so violent a medicine, as to be rarely ad- 

 ministered until all other remedies have failed. 

 Castor-oil is expressed from the seeds of Ricinus 

 communis, an African tree, frequently to be met 

 with in English gardens under the name of Palma 

 Chris ti, where, however, it only attains the rank 

 of an annual herbaceous plant. The Box is the 

 only British tree belonging to this order, of the 

 poisonous properties of which it partakes, though 

 to a limited extent. In some parts of Persia it 

 is very abundant; and in these districts it is 

 found impossible to keep camels, as the animals 

 are very fond of browsing on the leaves, which 

 kill them. The Dog-Mercury {Mercurialis per- 

 ennis) is an herbaceous plant, common in our 

 woods, and an active poison ; another species, M. 

 annua, is less frequently met with, and though 

 poisonous, is not so virulent as the other species. 



