• THE POISON IVY OF CALIFORNIA.
[TO THE EDITOR or TIER .SP liCTATOR."1 SIR,—There are three distinct species of poison ivy in the United States. The only one of the three that is native in California is the Bhus diversifolia of Torrey and Gray. The other two, !Thus toxicodendron and Rh= venenata, are widely spread throughout the Eastern States. They are all three poisonous, and seem to be very similar in their action: They affect different people very differently. Loudon, the author of the "Arboretum Britannicurn," mentions a case of two sisters, one of whom was unaffected, whilst the other was poisoned as your correspondents have described. The sap of the three species, without any process of manufacture, makes an indelible marking-ink for linen or parchment. The latest "National Standard Dispensatory" of the United States says : "Many remedies have been .suggested for the treatment of the eruption. None of them are curative, but are designed to relieve the itching and irritation. The fresh juice of Impatiens is said to be beneficial when locally applied. Probably the most effective, certainly the most frequently employed, are lead water and laudanum or fluid extract of Grindelia diluted with alcohol and water." In the case of Prim,ula obconica, the poison is contained in small stalked glands, which occur principally towards the base of the stalks of the leaves and flower-clusters, and the eruption which the poison sometimes causes would be much alleviated if, after handling the plant, the hands were well washed with hot water and soap. But here, again, many people are unaffected. To-day I asked two gardeners who have charge of a quantity of this Primula in Kew Gardens, and they both said that it never did them any harm.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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