MISCELLANEOUS NOTES AND OBSEEYATIONS. 
195 
be futile to attempt to offer any explanation of the phenomena 
beyond the fact that it is evident that one of the innumerable 
meteorites traversing space, having come too near our earth for its 
own safety, has been dissipated by the intense heat caused by the 
frictional resistance of our atmosphere to its passage through it, 
its momentum, thus converted into heat, adding a little to our 
stock of energy in the form of heat, and its matter, perhaps in great 
part vaporised, adding a little to the mass of our earth and atmo¬ 
sphere.*— John Ilophinson, St. Albans. 
Botany. 
Poisonous properties of Primula obconica. —As I believe that it is 
not generally known that Primula obconica , one of our prettiest 
greenhouse plants, has poisonous properties, I have collected some 
information with regard to it, and I exhibit a plant kindly lent to 
me for the purpose by the Earl of Essex. The subject was first 
brought under my notice by Dr. Eisher, of King’s Langley, who 
showed one of these plants and explained its properties at a recent 
meeting of the West Herts Medical Society. Last year he attended 
a lady who suffered from a painful rash on her hands which he 
determined to be neurotic urticaria. Primula obconica was one of 
her favourite fiowers, being largely used by her for table-decorations, 
and she noticed that she always had the rash after handling it. On 
one occasion after doing so she had shivering attacks in the night, 
found the rash the next morning, and continued ill for a week. 
When from home she was quite well. She was first told that the 
plant was poisonous on the 23rd of August, but did not believe it, 
as it was at least twelve hours after handling it that the rash came. 
A month after this she purposely plunged one finger into the plant, 
and the following day Dr. Eisher saw that finger alone attacked. 
Since then she has banished the plant from her house and there has 
been no return of the rash. Mr. J. W. Odell has sent to me the 
following account of his experience of the effects of this plant at 
Mrs. Brightwen’s, The Grove, Stanmore. “I have grown Primula 
obconica for six years or more, and for several seasons I was subject 
to a very troublesome skin disease, the skin being violently irritated 
and blistered. I was advised that this was probably due to contact 
with the leaves of the suncake ( Rhus toxicodendron) , but I found 
that it was due to Primula obconica. That this plant has poisonous 
properties is beyond a doubt, but whether these are in the glandular 
* The following, from a little hook entitled ‘ Mirabilis Annus Secundus , 
or the Second Year of Prodigies,’ published in 1662, probably relates to a some¬ 
what similar meteor seen in Hertfordshire. The after-light may have been 
caused by reflection from clouds when the meteor itself had disappeared from sight. 
“An inhabitant of Abbot’s Langley in Hertfordshire, by trade a carpenter, going 
abroad some hours before day, on the 6th of January, 1661, it being exceeding 
dark, on a sudden saw in the east the appearance of some light, and immediately 
after (as he conceived) the sun arose ; hut after a very short time there was no 
appearance at all of it, and it was as dark as before till the usual time of the day¬ 
break. The party affirms the truth of this to all that speak with him about it, 
from some of whom this information comes.” 
