588 NOTES ON THE COMMON NIGHTSHADE, 



black, but sometimes greenish-yellow or dingy red. The forms 

 that bear the two last coloured fruits are considered the most 

 dangerous. The black-coloured berries are frequently eaten by 

 children." 



In the Western Mail for April 30th, 1911, it was reported 

 that two children (a girl 3^ and a boy 6 j'ears of age) at Bunbury, 

 ^y.A., ate some berries of Solanum nigrum, and that the little 

 girl died. Mr. J. H. Maiden, F.R.S., Director of the Botanic 

 Gardens, Sj'dney, has also made several references to Solanum 

 nigrum. The first account appears to be in 1895(52), where he 

 states that it is '"supposed to be the cause of blindness in horses, 

 particularly young animals, who unknowingly eat the plant." 

 In the Daily Telegraph, May 14th, 1906, Mr. Maiden further 

 states, " I have eaten jam made of the fruits. I do not believe 

 that stock have been poisoned by this plant, and it is one which 

 has often been the subject of special enquiry in regard to this 

 particular plant." This latter statement was made in reply to 

 an enquiry if the plant was likely to have caused the death of 

 some cattle on Daisy Piper's Flat. In a further note on this 

 species, Mr. Maiden(53) reafhrms the above statement, as will 

 be seen by the following remarks : — " This widely diffused weed 

 is by some persons believed to be poisonous, by others innocuous. 



My own opinion is that it is not poisonous, though it is 



quite possible that if the fruits be eaten unripe, or if the plant 

 be grown in damp, shady places, it may possess acridity and pro- 

 duce gastric disturbance. The ripe fruits are made into jam in 

 parts of this Colony, and are also eaten by human beings in 

 other parts of the world." Ewart & Tovey(25) state that 

 " although useless as a fodder plant, it possesses no virulent 

 poisonous properties, and as a rule stock do not touch it. The 

 plan't is commonly regarded as highly poisonous, partly owing 

 to confusion with the "Deadly Nightshade'' (A tropa belladonna), 

 which is fortunately rare, and partly owing to hasty generalisa- 

 tion. A small amount of solanin is present in the stem and 

 berries of Solanum nigrum, but these are usually less poisonous 

 than green potatoes, in which alkaloids also appear. In addi- 

 tion, stock do not touch it at all unless starved The "Black 



