having variegated foliage ; some too, have white 
flowers, and others pale pink, but their prevailing- 
tint is a pinkish purple. It is the first shrub to 
cheer us after the dreary season ; to stand as a land- 
mark between winter and summer, and give us wel- 
come promise of better days to come. 
It must be remembered that although birds eat 
the berries of the Mezereon with impunity, they are 
poisonous to some animals, especially human beings; 
and as their acrimonious quality is not discovered 
immediately, they are the more dangerous ; hence 
it becomes important that they should not be left 
within the reach of children. Dr. Swediaur says 
that Camphor is an antidote to the poison. Sub- 
sequently to an emetic, oil, butter, and linseed tea, 
have been prescribed as suitable emollients. 
This, like other poisons, becomes in the hands of 
the medical man, a valuable remedy to disease. 
Dr. Withering relates, in his “Botanical Arrange- 
ment,” that he cured a patient who had suffered for 
three years, from a difficulty of swallowing, occa- 
sioned by a paralytic affection, She was directed 
to chew a slice of the root as often as she could bear 
it ; the irritation thus raised effected a cure, although 
she had long been unable to swallow solid food. 
In France the bark of the Mezereon has been 
used under the name of ‘ Garou ’ as an irritant. A 
piece of the bark, macerated in vinegar, is applied to 
the skin, and renewed night and morning till it 
cauterizes the surface ; and by the subsequent usual 
treatment a perpetual serous discharge is effected. 
In this country the bark of the root is used ; in Ger- 
many that of the branches. 
