Spartan Daily, June 1, 1951

Volume 39, Issue 153https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/spartandaily/11571/thumbnail.jp

The equity of social services provided to children and senior citizens

A consideration of the degree of equity in the U.S. government's treatment of children vis-a-vis adults, particularly the elderly. The authors show that given current policy, today's and tomorrow's children could end up paying as much as 70 percent of their lifetime income to the government, whereas the current elderly will pay only about 25 percent on average.Social service

De pulvere pro lupis occidendis: wolf poisoning in Southern Italy during the XIII century

In this study, we present some documents showing the official knowledgement of the role of luparius in Southern Italy during the XIII century. Luparii were professional wolf-killers, prevalently coming from three regions of the Kingdom of Naples: Abruzzo, Terra di Lavoro, Apulia, but active throughout the kingdom. Different techniques were adopted by luparii, but one of the most widespread was the so called pulvis, a powder probably obtained from an unknown poisonous plant. Dioscorides and Galen reported that a plant named akoniton was used in the Mediterranean world to poison wild animals, and according to the XVI century physician Pietro Andrea Mattioli, luparii used the Aconitum to kill wolves. Historical sources show that the problems related to the identification of Aconitum was harshly debated among the botanists contemporary to Mattioli, and that Doronicum pardalianches L. and Aconitum napellus L. were the species most frequently proposed. However, in Southern Italy both plants are scarcely present, whereas cognate species are diffused, as Doronicum columnae Ten. and two subspecies of Aconitum lycoctonum, A. lycoctonum L. subsp. neapolitanum (Ten.) Nyman or A. lycoctonum L. subsp. vulparia (Rchb. ex Spreng.) Nyman

An ethnobotanical survey of wild edible plants of Campania (Italy)

A survey of the knowledge on edible wild plants in Campania (Italy) is presented. The checklist is based not only on literature data but also on unpublished results coming from archives of the authors. 639 records of alimentary uses related to 198 taxa are listed. Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Brassicaceae and Rosaceae are the most represented families. The predominant biological forms are Hemycriptophytes, Terophytes and Phanerophytes. The parts of plant used as food mainly include leaves and aerial parts, followed by flowers, fruits and seeds, whereas roots and other underground parts are less frequently used. Many species are consumed in salads or soups and served in mixtures. The alimentary uses of most species are widespread in Campania, but the uses of 28 species are strictly linked to limited territories