less it be allayed by the application of milk, or some 
oily substance such as butter, &c. This acrid pro- 
perty is entirely lost by drying, and the roots be- 
come farinaceous and esculent. By maceration a 
powder is obtained from them, known as the Port- 
land sago. And, furthermore, Parkinson tells us 
that In former days the finest dames used the roots 
hereof to starch their linen, which would so sting, 
exasperate, and chap the skin of their servants’ 
hands that used it, that they could scarce get them 
smooth and whole, with all the anointing they could 
do, before they should use it again.” 
The seeds of the Arum maculatum, which are 
contained in those clusters of beautiful scarlet ber- 
ries, so frequently seen in our hedges, in the latter 
end of summer, are employed by the French as a 
cosmetic. They dry them and prepare a powder 
from them, called cypress powder, of which a wash 
is made for the skin. Although these berries are 
admitted to possess the properties of other parts of 
the plant, we are not sure that they possess any 
active poisonous quality. IMrs. Rowden, however, 
warns children from being tempted by them; she says 
“The shinini? beriy, as the ruby brip;ht, 
3Iiglit please thy taste, and tein])t thy eager sight; 
Trust not this specious veil ; beneath its guise. 
In honey’d streams a fatal poison lies.” 
“So Vice allures, with Virtue’s pleasing song, 
And charms her victims with a siren’s tongue.” 
The Arum triphyllum is adaj)ted to pot culture; 
or it may be taken up after flowering and be kept 
in sand till spring. Or, give it a shady border and 
cover it with tan in winter. 
Hort. Kew. 2, v. 5, 307. 
