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tato are well known to be perfectly wholesome when cooked, any narcotic pro- 

 perty which they possess being wholly dissipated by heat. This is the case 

 with other succulent underground stems in equally dangerous families, as the 

 Cassava among Euphorbiaceae ; besides which, as Decandollc justly observes, 

 — " II ne faut pas perdre de vue que tous nos alimens renferment une petite 

 dose d'un principe excitant, qui, s'il y etait en plus grande quantite, pourrait 

 etre nuisible, mais qui y est necessaire pour leur servir de condiment naturel." 

 The leaves of all are narcotic and exciting, but in. different degrees, from the 

 Atropa Belladonna, which causes vertigo, convulsions, and vomiting ; the well- 

 known Tobacco, which will frequently produce the first and last of these symp- 

 toms ; the Henbane and Stramonium, down to some of the Solanum tribe, the 

 leaves of which are used as kitchen herbs. The juice of Datura Stramonium is 

 used in the United States, in doses of from 20 to 30 grains, in cases of epilepsy, 

 or of mania without fever. Dec. The Quina of Brazil is the produce of Sola- 

 num pseudo-quina, and is so powerful a bitter and febrifuge, that the Brazihans 

 scarcely believe that it is not the genuine Jesuits' Bark. It has been analyzed 

 by Vauquebn, who found that it contained j\ of a bitter resinoid matter, slightly 

 soluble in water, about ^ 0I * a vegetable bitter, and a number of other princi- 

 ples in minute quantities. Plantes Ustielles, 21. The juice of Atropa Bella- 

 donna is well known to produce a singular dilatation of the pupil of the eye. 

 Duval found that the same property exists in Solanums of the Dulcamara tribe, 

 but in a more feeble degree. It is in the fruit that the greatest diversity of cha- 

 racter exists ; Atropa Belladonna, Solanum nigrum, and others, are highly 

 dangerous poisons ; Stramonium, Henbane, some Oestrums, and Physalis, are 

 narcotic ; the fruit of Physalis Alkekengi is diuretic, for which quality it is 

 employed by veterinary surgeons ; that of Capsicum is pungent, or even acrid ; 

 some Physalis are subacid, and so wholesome as to be eaten with impunity ; 

 and, finally, the Egg-plant, Solanum esculentum, and all the Tomato tribe of 

 Solanum, yield fruits which are common articles of cookery. But it is stated 

 that the poisonous species derive their properties from the presence of a pulpy 

 matter which surrounds the seeds ; and that the wholesome kinds are destitute 

 of this pulp, their fruit consisting only of what botanists call the sarcocarp ; that 

 is to say, the centre of the rind, in a more or less succulent state. It must also 

 be remembered, that if the fruit of the Egg-plant is eatable, it only becomes so 

 after undergoing a particular process, by which all its bitter acrid matter is re- 

 moved, and that the Tomato is always exposed to heat before it is eaten. The 

 fruit of Solanum Jacquini is considered by the native practitioners of India as 

 expectorant. The juice of that of Solanum bahamense is used in the West 

 Indies in cases of sore throat. Jlinslie, 2. 91. A decoction of the root of S. 

 mammosum is bitter, and reckoned a valuable diuretic. Ibid. The roots of 

 Physalis flexuosa are supposed by the Indian doctors to have deobstruent and 

 diuretic qualities, and also to be alexipharmic. The leaves moistened with a 

 little warm castor oil are a useful external application in cases of carbuncle. 

 Ibid. 2. 15. The common Potato, in a state of putrefaction, is said to give out 

 a most vivid light, sufficient to read by. This was particularly remarked by 

 an officer on guard at Strasburgh, who thought the barracks were on fire, in 

 consequence of the light thus emitted from a cellar full of potatoes. Ed. P. J. 

 13. 376. It has been supposed that Potash may be advantageously obtained 

 from the stalk of Potatos ; but it appears, from the experiments of Dr. Maccul- 

 loch and Sir John Hay, that the quantity they contain is so small as not to be 

 worth the manufacture. Ibid. 2. 399. The deleterious principle of the Bella- 

 donna has been ascertained by Vaiiquelin to be a bitter nauseous matter, soluble 

 in spirit of wine, forming an insoluble combination with tannin, and yielding 

 ammonia when burnt. Dec. Prodr. 225. The active principle of Solanum 

 Dulcamara is an alkali, called Solania, which is in that plant combined with 

 malic acid. Turner 654. 



