<Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1079 
Skullcap or Madweed 
I am very anxious to obtain some of 
the herb known as skullcap, to be used 
as medicine. 1 have been told it grows 
wild iu the woods ; also that it does not 
grow wild, but must 'be cultivated in the 
garden. Where does the skullcap grow? 
1 do uot like the dried herbs obtained at 
the drug store. MBS. T. T. S. 
1 laze I hurst, Pa. 
Skullcap, known also as madweed and 
mad-dog skullcap, is a native plant, bo- 
tanically named Scutellaria lateriflora. 
It is a 'bitter perennial herb, which has 
been used iu treatment of hydrophobia, 
but the United States Dispensatory does 
not credit it with any special medicinal 
value. It has two-lipped tubular flowers, 
about a quarter of an inch long, pale 
purple or bluish (rarely white), borne in 
succession along delicate stems which 
terminate the branches or spring between 
leaf stem and plant stem. The leaves are 
ovate, pointed, veined and coarsely 
toothed. The plant grows one to two 
feet high, and is common in damp and 
shady places everywhere. There are sev¬ 
eral other varieties of skullcap, some 
more showy in appearance than S. lateri¬ 
flora, but we judge this is the variety 
meant, as it is the sort generally credited 
with medicinal virtues. 
Poison in Wild Cherries 
I would like to ask your advice concern¬ 
ing the advisability of using choke cher¬ 
ries or wild cherries for food or medicinal 
purposes. I have heard that the leaves 
when wilted are poisonous, and wondered 
whether or not the fruit would be if dried. 
Clarence, N. Y. J. s. 
The fruit of the choke cherry. Primus 
Virginiana, and of the wild black cherry, 
Prunus serotina, is used in a variety of 
ways; in jelly, preserves and beverages. 
The <eeds of all cherries may lie regarded 
with suspicion, and cases of poisoning 
have been recorded, we believe, where 
children have swallowed the pits or ker¬ 
nels of the Prunus serotina. If the pits 
and kernels arc rejected, there is no rea¬ 
son to fear harmful consequences from the 
use of the fruit any more than from other 
cherries. The poison generated by the 
wilting of the leaves is not inherent in the 
plant itself, but is formed in detached 
branches by the chemical action of two 
non-poisonous substances present in the 
plant. Under certain conditions these 
compounds liberate prussic acid. The 
poison is volatile, and disappears from the 
foliage in a short time, but is formed dur¬ 
ing the wilting period. As accident may 
cause wilting leaves accessible to farm 
animals, it i*s better to avoid risk by get¬ 
ting rid of such trees. They are attrac¬ 
tive in appearance, but the value of the 
fruit is small, and they form a congenial 
harbor for tent caterpillars. There would 
be no danger in the dried fruit, but we 
would advise rejection of kernels. 
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Homeopathic Treatment for Poison Ivy 
I have just finished reading the letters 
about poison ivy. and am sure my experi¬ 
ence will he helpful. One of my boys is 
very susceptible to the ivy; so much so 
that I had to employ a physician for fear 
lie would lose his eyesight. He gave him 
internally the homeopathic “Rhus Tox,” 
which is nothing but extract of poison 
ivy. lie t<>ld me if the hoy would eat the 
leaves of the ivy he would never have any 
trouble. My husband was not willing to 
let him do that, so the doctor told me to 
give him the Rhus Tox instead. Since 
then I have usually given him one or two 
doses* a day for about a month every 
Spring after the ivy leaves out and have 
had no further trouble. My little girl 
has eaten the leaves of the ivv frequently 
with no bad efl’eet and has never been 
poisoned, though there are quantities of 
the ivy on the farm and she wanders all 
over the place. I am sure you must have 
heard old-timers say. “Why. I never get 
poisoned: I can cat it and it doesn’t hurt 
me!” I have heard that remark fre¬ 
quently. and know for a fact these people 
do eat it and are never poisoned from 
handling it. My physician says it is be¬ 
cause they do eat it. and he recommends 
it as a sure preventive. lie said that the 
men who work on railroad tracks have to 
handle lots of the ivy. and they make a 
practice of eat iug the leaves. Any hom°- 
opathie physician will tell you how to 
use the “Rhus Tox” if you do not care to 
try the leaves. roxanna. 
Poison Elder 
The poison elder of which Mrs. E. IT. 
<1. was advised was probably Sandmens 
pubens. The flower cluster is a greenish 
white, not flat, like the sweet elder. The 
fruit when growing in a favorable loca¬ 
tion is very handsome, as it is an intense 
scarDt. I have often wondered that it is 
not used for ornamental planting. It 
was called poisonous to oat. although we 
broke branches for vases, but I noticed 
the catbird ate the berries on a small 
bush I set near the house; so I tasted 
them and was not tempted to swallow 
them, as they were very disagreeable. It 
is a very beautiful shrub when the fruit 
is ripe and quite pretty when in flower. 
M. F. K. 
R. N.-Y.—Tt is quite possible that 
Sandmens pubens (S. racemosa of older 
botanists) is described in some localities 
as “poison,” as the berries, while quite 
harmless, are very acrid, but the common 
name of “poison elder” is given to the 
very poisonous Rhus venenata. The red 
berried elder is listed among ornamentals 
by nurserymen. 
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