Am.  Jour.  Pharm."! 
November.  18S9.  f 
Notes  and  News. 
xxxiii 
Poison  Sumac. — Rhus  vernLv,  L.,  [also  known  as  swamp  sumac,  dogwood 
(Massachusetts),  poison  dogwood,  poison  elder  (Alabama),  poison  ash  (Ver- 
mont), poison  tree,  poison  wood,  poison  swamp  sumac,  thunderwood 
(Georgia  and  Virginia)]  is  a  shrub  from  6  to  30  feet  high,  with  long  pinnate 
leaves,  having  from  7  to  13  leaflets.    The  wood  has  a  faint  sulphurous  odor, 
which,  together  with  the  leaf 
scars,  which  are  very  promi- 
nent, enables  one  to  distinguish 
the  plant  from  other  shrubbery 
in  winter.  It  grows  in  swamps 
and  damp  woods  from  Canada 
to  Florida  and  westward  to 
Louisiana. 
The  effects  of  the  poison  are 
the  same  as  that  of  poison  ivy, 
and  cases  require  the  same 
remedy.  Evidently  the  active 
principle  is  an  oil  similar  to 
that  isolated  by  Pfaff  from  Rhus 
radicans,  L,.  It  is  highly  desir- 
able that  legal  measures  be 
adopted  compelling  the  destruc- 
tion of  these  plants  where  they 
abound  in  cities  and  in  places 
of  popular  resort.  This  can  be 
managed  without  much  danger 
from  the  poison,  and  is  a  matter 
of  very  general  public  interest. 
Owing  to  the  fact  that  many 
individuals  are  practically  im- 
mune from  the  effects  of  poison 
ivy,  advantage  should  be  taken 
of  this  fact  to  employ  such  in- 
dividuals to  remove  these  plants 
from  the  vicinity  of  dwellings 
and  from  playgrounds.  Much 
of  the  work  would  be  purely 
mechanical,  consisting  in  root- 
ing the  plants  up  by  main  lorce. 
This  is  the  most  certain  method; 
the  use  of  concentrated  sul- 
phuric acid  is  attended  with  less  danger,  as  the  plants  do  not  need  to  be  touched . 
A  half  teaspoonful  should  be  applied  to  the  stem  every  two  or  three  weeks 
in  the  spring  time  when  the  plant  is  growing  most  vigorously.  Care  should 
be  taken  to  keep  the  acid  away  from  the  skin,  as  it  is  most  highly  corrosive. 
The  brush  should  in  no  case  be  left  upon  the  ground  nor  the  wood  used  for 
fuel.  In  burning  the  refuse  in  the  field,  pains  should  be  taken  not  to  inhale 
the  smoke  nor  to  handle  the  wood  any  more  than  necessary. 
The  greatest  care  should  be  exercised  in  preventing  workmen  from  trans- 
