Not many years ago a whole dinner-party was poisoned by eating aconite root in mistake for horse-radish. Nor has this accident happened but once; many cases of poisoning in this way have been recorded. And it is a very terrible thing, for a little aconite root may kill a dozen persons at a time. Aconite root is the root of the blue monk’s-hood (_Aconitum Napellus_), one of our native English plants. It is rare in the wild state, but is frequently grown in gardens for the sake of its fine spikes of dark blue blossoms. How the aconite root can be mistaken for horse-radish we cannot quite see, for the poisonous root is carrot-shaped, rarely more than three inches long, almost scentless, and with a bitter “mawkish” taste. The smallest quantity of the root produces, when chewed, tingling, followed by prolonged numbness of the tongue and cheeks. All parts of the monk’s-hood are extremely poisonous, but the root is the most deadly part. And now for a few words about vegetables, the most neglected, yet one of the most important food-stuffs. It is impossible to over-estimate the value of the potato as an article of diet. Alone it is not a good food, but it is the ideal vegetable to have with meat. An Irishman asked a companion to dinner, and in answer to the question as to the fare, replied, “Just an illigant pace of corned bafe and pertaters.” To which his friend replied, “My own dinner to a tay, barring the bafe.” Let us hope that he accepted the invitation, for corned beef and potatoes make a good, if rough, meal, but potatoes alone are not sufficient. It has been questioned by many persons if the introduction of the potato has proved an advantage, for it has driven out the older vegetables, such as salsify and celeriac. But if we look upon the potato merely in the light of a usurper of the place formerly occupied by other vegetables, we must still consider it as an immense boon to mankind. That the potato is not very easily digested we grant, and it should be avoided by the subjects of dyspepsia. But in the dietary of perfectly healthy persons, the digestibility of the food is of secondary importance to that of over-strong and rich food. For as we have over and over again said, the great fault in modern diet is not that we eat too much, but that we take our food too strong.