The Botanist's Companion Part 33

BITTER NAUSEOUS POISONS.

These are much altered by vegetable acids in general, and especially by oxymuriatic acid; but they still retain much of their poisonous quality, which appears to be rendered more active by alkalies. The tanning decoctions of nut-galls, acacia, and other strong astringents, Venice treacle, wine, spiritous liquors, and spices, are useful.

623. CHELIDONIUM majus. CELANDINE.--The yellow juice of this plant is extremely acrid and narcotic. It is not at all like any plant used for culinary purposes, and therefore there is not any great danger likely to arise from its being confounded with any useful vegetable.

624. CICUTA virosa. COWBANE.--Two boys and six girls, who found some roots of this plant in a water-meadow, ate of them. The two boys were soon seized with pain of the pericardia, loss of speech, abolition of all the senses, and terrible convulsions. The mouth closely shut, so that it could not be opened by any means. Blood was forced from the ears, and the eyes were horribly distorted.

Both the boys died in half an hour from the first accession of the symptoms.

The six girls, who had taken a smaller quant.i.ty of the roots than the boys, were likewise seized with epileptic symptoms; but in the interval of the paroxysms, some Venice-treacle dissolved in vinegar was given to them; in consequence of which they vomited, and recovered: but one of them had a very narrow escape for her life. She lay nine hours with her hands and feet outstretched, and cold: all this time she had a cadaverous countenance, and her respiration could scarcely be perceived.

When she recovered, she complained a long time of a pain in her stomach, and was unable to eat any food, her tongue being much wounded by her teeth in the convulsive fits.

Plantae affines.

Celery is smaller than this plant.

Parsley is also smaller in all its parts.

Alexanders differs from it, as a plant not of so high growth.

Angelica may be mistaken for this, but has a more agreeable scent.

All the water parsneps may be confounded with it: but these are known by the smallness of the umbels; and they are generally in bloom, so that this circ.u.mstance is a good criterion.

Care should at all times be taken, not to make use of any umbelliferous plants growing in water, as many of them are, if not altogether poisonous, very unwholesome.

625. COLCHIc.u.m autumnale. MEADOW-SAFFRON.--Baron Stoerch a.s.serts, that on cutting the fresh root into slices, the acrid particles emitted from it irritated the nostrils, fauces, and breast; and that the ends of the fingers with which it had been held became for a time benumbed; that even a single grain in a crumb of bread taken internally produced a burning heat and pain in the stomach and bowels, urgent strangury, tenesmus, colic pais, cephalalgia, hiccup, &c. From this relation, it will not appear surprising that we find several instances recorded, in which the Colchic.u.mproved a fatal poison both to man, and brute animals.

Two boys, after eating this plant, which they found growing in a meadow, died in great agony. Violent symptoms have been produced by taking the flowers. The seeds, likewise, have been known to produce similar effects.

626. OENANTHE crocata. HEMLOCK. WATER DROPWORT.--Eleven French prisoners had the liberty of walking in and about the town of Pembroke; three of them being in the fields a little before noon, found and dug up a large quant.i.ty of this plant with its roots, which they took to be wild celery, to eat with their bread and b.u.t.ter for dinner. After washing it a while in the fields they all three ate, or rather tasted of the roots.

As they were entering the town, without any previous notice of sickness at the stomach or disorder in the head, one of them was seized with convulsions. The other two ran home, and sent a surgeon to him. The surgeon first endeavoured to bleed, and then to vomit him; but those endeavours were fruitless, and the soldier died in a very short time.

Ignorant yet of the cause of their comrade's death, and of their own danger, they gave of these roots to the other eight prisoners, who all ate some of them with their dinner: the quant.i.ty could not be ascertained. A few minutes after, the remaining two who gathered the plant were seized in the same manner as the first; of which one died: the other was bled, and a vomit forced down, on account of his jaws being as it were locked together. This operated, and he recovered; but he was for some time affected with a giddiness in his head; and it is remarkable, that he was neither sick nor in the least disordered in his stomach. The others being bled and vomited immediately, were secured from the approach of any bad symptoms. Upon examination of the plant which the French prisoners mistook for wild celery, Mr. Howell discovered it to be this plant, which grows very plentifully in the neighbourhood of Haverfordwest.

Although the above account, which Mr. Wilmer has so minutely described, seems well attested, and corroborated by the above gentleman, yet I was informed by the late Mr. Adams, comptroller of the Customs at Pembroke, that the Oenanthe does not, that he could find, grow in that part of the country; but that what the above unfortunate French officers did actually eat was the wild Celery, which grows plentifully in all the wet places near that town. I take the liberty of mentioning this circ.u.mstance; as it will serve to keep in mind the fact, that celery, when found wild, and growing in wet places, shold be used cautiously, it being in such situations of a pernicious tendency. For such whose curiosity may lead them to become acquainted with the Oenanthe crocata, it grows in plenty near the Red House in Battersea fields on the Thames'

bank. The water-courses on the marsh at Northfleet have great quant.i.ties of the Apium graveolens growing in them.

Plantae affines.

Cultivated celery differs from it when young, first in the shape and size of its roots. The Oenanthe is perennial, and has a large root, which on being cut is observed to be full of juice, which exudes in form of globules. The celery, on the contrary, has roots in general much smaller, particularly when in a wild state.

The leaves of celery have somewhat the same flavour, but are smaller; the nerves on the lobes of the leaves are also very prominent, and somewhat more pointed.

When the two plants are in bloom, a more conspicuous difference is apparent in the involucrum and seeds, the character of which should be consulted.

It may be mistaken for Parsley; but it is both much larger in foliage and higher in growth; it is also different from it in the shape of the roots.

These are the two plants most likely to be confounded with it. But the student should also consult the difference existing between this plant and the following, which, although somewhat alike in appearance, may be confounded.

Angelica.

Chervil.

Alexanders.

Hemlock.

Skirret.

Cow Parsley.

Lovage.

Wild Parsnep.

Fool's Parsley.

Hamburgh Parsley.

627. PRUNUS Lauro-cerasus. THE COMON LAUREL.--The leaves of the laurel have a bitter taste, with a flavour resembling that of the kernels of the peach or apricot; they communicate an agreeable flavour to aqueous and spirituous fluids, either by infusion or distillation. The distilled water applied to the organs of smelling strongly impresses the mind with the same ideas as arise from the taste of peach blossoms or apricot kernels: it is so extremely deleterious in its nature, and sometimes so sudden in its operation, as to occasion instantaneous death; but it more frequently happens that epileptic symptoms are first produced. This poison was discovered by accident in Ireland in the year 1728: before which, it was no uncommon practice there, to add a certain quant.i.ty of laurel water to brandy, or other spirituous liquors, to render them agreeable to the palate. At that time three women drank some laurel-water; and one of them a short time afterwards became violently disordered, lost her speech, and died in about an hour.

A gentleman at Guildford, some few years back, also, by making an experiment as he intended on himself, was poisoned by a small dose: he did not survive the taking it more than two hours.

In consequence of the above poisonous principle existing in the laurel, it has been recommended to persons to be cautious hwo they make use of the leaves of that shrub, which is a usual practice with cooks for giving flavour to custards, blanch-mange, and other made-dishes, lest the narcotic principle should be also conveyed, to the detriment of the health of persons who eat of them.

And the same may be said of the kernels of all stone-fruits; for the flavours given to noyau, ratafia, and other liquors which are highly prized by epicures, are all of them derived from the same principle as laurel-water, and which, on chemical investigation, is found to be prussic acid. This exists in considerable quant.i.ties in the bitter almond, and which when separated proves to be the most active poison known, to the human as well as all other animal existence. This principle, and its mode of extraction, should not be made more public than the necessity of scientific research requires. We cannot with propriety accuse either this tree or the laurel as being poisonous, because the ingenuity of mankind has found out a mode of extracting this active acidulous principle, and which is so very small in proportion to the wholesome properties of the fruit, as not to be suspected of any danger but for this discovery. As well might we accuse wheat of being poisonous, because it yields on distillation brandy, which has been known to kill many a strong-bodied fellow who has indulged in this favourite beverage to excess. An eminent chemist informs me, that he has made experiments with the oxalic acid, and found that when this was also concentrated, it has similar effects; insomuch that no animal can contain a grain of it if taken into the throat or stomach: and thus might we also be led to consider the elegant, and in itself harmless, wood-sorrel, as a poisonous plant.