244 FAMILY HERBAL. 



tips, and have the same bag of liquor at the base, and 

 they sting very terribly ; more a great deal than the 

 common nettle. 



The seeds are the part used ; they are good 

 against coughs, shortness of breath, and hoarsenesses ; 

 the seeds of the common nettle are commended for 

 this purpose, but these are greatly preferable. The 

 best way of giving them is in the manner of tea, 

 sweetened with honey. 



Common Nightshade. Solarium vulgare. 



A wild plant, that over-runs gardens, and all 

 other cultivated places, if not continually weeded out. 

 It grows two fee? high ; the stalks are roundish, thick, 

 but not very erect or strong, and of a dusky green. 

 The leaves are broad and roundish, but they ter- 

 minate in a point. They are of a dark green colour, 

 and stand on foot stalks. The flowers grow in little 

 clusters, ten or a dozen in a bunch ; they are white, 

 with a yellowish centre, and they are succeeded by 

 r,ound black berries. 



The leaves are used fresh, and only externally. 

 They are very cooling, and applied bruised to in- 

 flammations, scalds, burns, and troublesome erup? 

 tions on the skin. 



Deadly Nightstade. Solatium Icthale 



It may seem strange to mix a poison among me- 

 dicines, but a part of this herb has its uses. This 

 is a wild plant of a dulf and dismal aspect. It 

 grows five feet high. The stalks are angulated, 

 and of a deep green. The leaves are very large, 

 broad, and flat, and they also are of a dull dead 

 green. The flowers stand singly on long foot- 

 # talks, arising from the bosom of the leaves, and 



