=Water Parsnip= (_Sium latifolium_ L.). The leaves and especially the root of this species are regarded as poisonous, and the plant is described as “poisonous” by Strasburger. According to Müller the symptoms resemble those produced by _Chaerophyllum_ (p. 40). After eating the roots _cows_ showed symptoms of excitement, leading, in some instances, very quickly to death. The milk, according to Cornevin, is of a disagreeable flavour. The related _S. angustifolium_ has also been mentioned as objectionable. As regards the toxic principle these plants have not been closely studied, and it is not possible to give detailed symptoms. REFERENCES. 73, 81, 190, 235. =Water Dropwort= (_Oenanthe crocata_ L.). This weed of marshes, ditches, and similar wet spots, has been a frequent cause of loss of stock. Cases of fatal human poisoning have also occurred, owing to the leaves having been mistaken for celery and the rootstock for parsnips. Several cases of the poisoning of cattle have been recorded in the veterinary journals, and sheep and cattle died on a farm near Bristol (_Jour. Roy. Agric. Soc._, 1898). Horses have also been poisoned. Johnson and Sowerby (1861) record the poisoning of 17 convicts near Woolwich, the leaves and roots being eaten in mistake for celery and parsnips respectively. Nine suffered from convulsions and became insensible; one died in five minutes, a second in a quarter of an hour, a third in an hour, and a fourth a few minutes later, while two more died during the next few days. Cornevin says that this plant causes the poisoning of animals every year—they eat it willingly, showing an enfeebled instinct owing to domestication. The plant is poisonous in all its parts, the root being the most toxic, and drying does not destroy the toxic property. Cornevin gives the following quantities of the fresh root as necessary to poison various animals:— Horse 0·100 per cent. of the live weight. Ox 0·125 „ „ „ Sheep 0·200 „ „ „ Pig 0·150 „ „ „ Rabbit 2·000 „ „ „ Holmes described _Oenanthe crocata_ as the most dangerous and virulently poisonous of all our native plants (_Pharm. Jour._, 1902). Other species of _Oenanthe_ are also poisonous in a less degree—_e.g._ _O. fistulosa_ L., and _O. Phellandrium_ Lamk.