12 
THE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
skeleton of Emir does not depart fundamentally from the 
natural types, and that the peculiarities which it presents 
can by no means be termed anomalies, even if the word were 
scientifically acceptable. By the number of vertebrae it ex¬ 
hibits the characters of the thirty-six vertebral type. It differs 
only in the form of the twenty-fifth and of the thirty-first 
vertebrae, of which the former presents the features of the 
first lumbar in place of those of the last dorsal, and the 
latter those of the first sacral instead of those of the last 
lumbar. The distribution of the vertebrae between the 
different regions of the spine only is irregular. 55 
THE PRINCIPLES OF BOTANY. 
By Professor James Buckman, F.G.S., F.L.S., &c. &c. 
[Continued from vol. li, p. 649.) 
From the foregoing remarks it will be judged that the 
Umbelliferce include plants possessing very useful properties, 
though occasionally species are met with of a highly danger¬ 
ous character. Several poisonous species become not only 
inert, but highly wholesome and nutritious, as the result of 
cultivation. Thus, the parsnip, which was adverted to in 
our last as a mild esculent vegetable in the wild state, has a 
root which is so powerful as to be disagreeable, and which 
would doubtless have at least an energetic medicinal action. 
The carrot, again, whose cultivated root is so agreeable, is 
yet strong and unpleasant in its wild state, while its seeds 
are used as an active stimulant and diuretic. 
Celery, again, which daily appears at our table in the raw 
state, is a poison in its wild condition, both its herbage and 
its seed possessing very active principles, so much so that a 
little of the green plant is enough to flavour soup, and a 
few seeds tied in muslin is very often used for the same 
purpose. 
Hemlock grown in the garden and blanched like celery is 
said to be eaten by the Russians in the same way as we do 
celery, either raw as a salad, or stewed as a pot herb, and it 
is yet so destructive of life that a single leaf given in mistake 
for wild parsley will kill a rabbit; while for its effects upon 
man we cannot resist quoting Mrs. Lankester’s wonderful 
description of its powers, in doing which we feel sure she 
