December 27. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
17.') 
all the family are more or less acrid, caustic, and 
poisonous. All must be regarded with great sus¬ 
picion, even, although some are said to he innocuous. 
Nearly all possess purgative qualities, some are power¬ 
ful hut dangerous tonics, some narcotics, and others 
emetic. 
it may here he as well to observe that the value of 
a plant to a physician depends in a great measure 
upon the soil and climate in which it grows. Many 
plants introduced from India, and apparently per¬ 
fectly acclimated, are found to have lost their medi¬ 
cinal properties, and become inert. Thus, in the same 
manner, one of the parsnip tribe is poisonous in the 
south of England, and harmless when grown in 
Scotland—a lesson of caution which cannot he too 
deeply impressed on those who, ignorant of the fact, 
would use in one climate that which they found be¬ 
neficial in another. 
There are many plants in this family upon which 
I would love to dwell. The Meadow Rue (Thalictrum 
flavum), with its gently laxative leaves and roots, still 
a favourite remedy in some districts, in jaundice; 
and as a wash in old and indolent sores; or to kill 
certain parasitical insects that infest the unclean. 
The Anemones, too, would detain me for their loveli¬ 
ness, though they might tempt me, reader, to read 
you the lesson, that solid worth is not always found 
among those whose exterior is the most attractive. 
The gay, the witty, the light-hearted, may for a time 
amuse, but what do they leave behind to benefit or 
instruct? But I must confine myself to the really 
useful. Perhaps some day I may describe to you 
my garden generally, and tell you of all the motley 
fancies I have woven with my flowers. The philoso¬ 
pher may smile, but for me, I would not give the love 
my heart can feel for my poor fragile flowers for all 
the grandeur of his musty lore. 
The first, then, on my list is Monkshood (Aconitum 
napellus), with its dark blue flowers, shaped not unlike 
the hoods of shaven monks I have seen abroad; and 
called also Wolf’s-bane, because its roots were for¬ 
merly pounded and mixed with flesh to destroy wolves 
and other beasts of prey. I grow it in my physic 
garden; but, reader, chase it from your borders, or if 
you think it too ornamental not to find a place, never 
twine it in a nosegay, for its scent is very deleterious. 
It is the root, however, which seems to be the most 
poisonous part of the plant; so virulent, indeed, that 
the ancients, who were unacquainted with chemistry 
and its products, regarded the aconite as the most 
virulent of all poisons. Within late years, too, in¬ 
stances are not wanted of death from eating its leaves 
as salad. The deadly principle in the plant is a 
darkish green lecula, called aconitine, of so powerful 
a character, that one-fiftieth part of a grain has en¬ 
dangered the life of an individual. Although its 
action upon the human frame appears to be confined 
to the brain and nervous system, producing a death¬ 
like feeling, accompanied with a tingling sensation 
and delirium, it has, nevertheless, been used in many 
of the most troublesome diseases incident to humanity, 
it has been administered in 'gout and rheumatism; 
and given with success in epilepsy, paralysis, and 
other nervous affections to which its use is now con¬ 
fined. The only manner in which any one but a 
medical man could venture to use it, is as a tincture 
made by macerating a pound of the recently dried 
and coarsely pounded root in about two pints of 
spirits, and using it with a small piece of sponge fixed 
on a stick to relieve rheumatic and neuralgic pains. 
So used as an external application, its effects are 
sometimes almost magical. But it must be remem’ 
bered how dangerous a remedy it is, and in the hands 
of the unskilful it may prove fatal rather than bene¬ 
ficial. 
The pretty Larkspur (Delphinium consolida,) 
need not long detain us. Its flowers I have occa¬ 
sionally employed as a stimulating poultice in certain 
forms of sore eyes (opthalmia) ; lint I chiefly use its 
juice, with that of another species, D. stapldsagrin , 
made into an ointment to destroy vermin on the 
human body. Its seeds, too, are macerated in vin¬ 
egar, as a wash for the same purpose. These prepara¬ 
tions, however, must not be carelessly used, since 
they are very acrid and caustic, and apt to produce 
violent inflammation of the skin. 
The Hellebore merits more attention. And the 
first tiling I must remark is its Latin name, derived 
from two Greek words, signifying that the plant will 
cause death if used for food. There are four medicinal 
species of hellebore; and others, doubtless, possess 
somewhat similar properties. The most important is 
the Black Hellebore, ( Hcllehorus niger), which 
from its flowering in the depth of winter has obtained 
the more common name of Christmas rose. The root 
is the valuable portion of the plant, which when dried 
and powdered, and given in ten to fifteen-grain doses, 
is employed as a strong drastic purgative. It must, 
however, be used with great caution, since its effects 
vary considerably and are much dependent upon 
circumstances. Thus the root when fresh is much 
more powerful in its action than when dry, its virtues 
appearing to depend upon some volatile principle. 
Again, though the hellebore is a desirable purgative 
in some constitutions, it is very injurious to others. 
Bearing these facts in mind, it often proves servicable 
in nervous affections, especially in mania, melancholy, 
and epilepsy. It is also useful in dropsy. Too large 
a dose occasions sickness, pain in the abdomen, 
cramps, paralysis, insensibility, and death. Thore 
are, as I have said, three other officinal species of 
hellebore:—the Eastern (H. officinalis), a native of 
the Levant, and interesting from the antiquity of its 
use; the Green Hellebore (H. virulis); and the 
Stinking Hellebore (. H. fcetidus ): natives of Eng¬ 
land, and the action of the roots of all four are so 
similar, that it matters little which is employed. Some 
old writers assert that hellebore is much more violent 
in its effects upon “ suohe as be whole ” than upon those 
who “have not their health;” and we know that 
among the Roman orators it was no uncommon pro¬ 
cedure to prepare themselves for any great oratorical 
effort, hy a dose of the herb. 
We come now to the Crowsfoot, and, when we 
consider the great similarity which maintains among 
the several species of ranunculus, we cannot wonder 
that the names of crowsfoot and butter-cup should 
be common to several plants really distinct; in short, 
they are used indiscriminately to nearly all the 
English species. Neither can we be surprised that 
such common plants should possess numerous pro¬ 
vincial names, of which Culpepper speaks as follows:— 
“ Many are the names this furious, biting herb hath 
obtained, almost enough to make up a Welshman’s 
pedigree, if he fetch no farther than John of Gaunt, 
or William the Conqueror; for it is called frogsfoot 
(from the Greek name Batrakian), crowsfoot, gold 
knobs, gold cups, king’s-knob, baffiners, troil-flowers, 
polks, locket-goulions, and butter-flowers.” 
The first species I shall speak of is the Upright 
Crowsfoot (Ranunculus acris), so called from its 
extreme acridity. Curtis says, “ that even pulling up 
the plant and carrying it for a short time, has pro¬ 
duced a considerable inflammation in the palm of the 
