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SECT. XIII.— POISONOUS PLANTS.
nutes after which she found symptoms cf convulsions make their ap"pearance, and sent for the apothecary : but who, unfortunately, was sototally ignorant ot'tiotany as not to know the plant, bat supposing itto be Coltsfoot, after the infant died, took his leave, without any re-mark further, than that the disorder which occasioned its death hadarisen from some accidental and unusual cause. The nurse, how-ever, did not feel perfectly satisfied of this fact, and carried the re-mainder of the herb t.i Apot'hecaries-llall ; and having applied there fotinformation, was refeired to Mr. Leffler, a gentleman who had fromhis botanical researches that season obtained the Sloanean prize- nbotold her the mistake. He also went and saw the body, and investi-gated the whole case in a way that has done that young gentlemangreat credit: and from him I have been favoured with this account!Had the medical attendant but known the difference between the twoplants when he was called in first, there was a chance of the childbeing saved to its distressed parents. And here was certainly a strikinginstance of medical men neglecting so far the study of botany, as no'to know one of the most useful as weil as one of the most dangerousplants of the present Pharmacopoeia.
6«. HELLEBORUS/a;(iA«. Bearsfoot.— The country-people ar«in the habit of chopping up the leaves of this plant and giving it tochildren for removing worms; but it is a dangerous medicine, andshould be made use of with great caution. It is also recommended a?a medicine for the same purpose in horses. As much of the choppedleaves as will lie on a crown-piece, given amongst a feed of corn totthree days, and remitted three days, and repeated thus for nine doseSihas been Known to remove this disease.
" I heard a melancholy story of a mother in this city ; viz. that *Country Calkagh gave some of this plant to her two sons, one of si*>the other of four years of age, to kill worms ; and that before four i* 1the afternoon thy were both corpses. 1 '—Dr. Threlkeld, in a short dfcount of the plants in the neighbourhood of Dublin.
o42. JfJNlPERUS Sahina. Savine.— The expressed juice of t»8plant is very poisonous, and often known to produce the naost violefl 1effects. It i. sometimes used by persons for expelling worms in ehil'dren, hot should be used with great caution j for, if the quantity take'jinto the stomach is more than it can digest, all the dreadful effects &the poisons of this class are certain to be the immediate consequence.
643. SCROPHULARIA. anuatica. Watkr-Betony. — Every part"'this plant is said to be violently narcotic; but its very disagree3bl fftrong scent and extremely bitter taste render it not likely to Wused in mistake for any culinary vegetable; and although we kno<what its effects are from report, we do not think it of so dangerous *tendency as some of our other poisonous vegetables.
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