70 
CRUELTY. 
side, being exposed to the smoke and vapour 
of the dismal regions he was visiting, were 
tinged with a darker shade, which they still 
retain. 
CRUELTY. 
NETTLE. 
The sting of the nettle causes a pain as 
violent as that produced hy a burn. On exa¬ 
mining the plants with a microscope, we ob¬ 
serve the “projecting bristles, or prickles, 
with which they are covered are tubular, and 
stand on a bag filled with a poisonous juice; 
they are perforated at the point, and when 
they are gently pressed vertically, the pressure 
at once forces the poison to ascend the tube, 
and enables the point to lodge it in the skin.” 
Its generic name, Urtica, is formed from 
tiro, to burn, in allusion to its stinging pro¬ 
perties. 
O’er the throng, urtica flings 
Her barbed shafts, and darts her poisoned stings. 
DARWIN. 
