596 



SOL 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



SOL 



39. Solanum Nigrum ; Common or Garden Nightshade. 

 Stem unarmed, herbaceous, erect; leaves ovate, tooth-angular; 

 racemes distich, nodding. Root annual, much branched; 

 stem bushy, more or less angular; leaves scattered, stalked, 

 slightly downy ; umbels lateral, from the interstices of the 

 stem between the leaves, nodding, downy, bearing a few white 

 flowers, smelling: like musk ; berries globular, black when ripe, 

 sometimes yellow. There are many varieties, in size, and in 

 the hairiness of the leaves; but it may bo always known at 

 first sight, when it is in perfection, by the bunches of flowers 

 or fruits hanging from the spaces between the joints of the 

 stem and branches. There is little doubt of the herb and ber- 

 ries being both poisonous, though some persons have eaten 

 them without any bad effects following. The whole herb is 

 fetid, narcotic, and promotes perspiration and urine. From 

 one to three grains of the leaves infused in boiling water, and 

 taken at bed-time, occasions a copious perspiration, increases 

 the urinary discharge, and commonly purges more or less the 

 clay following. These properties, judiciously applied, render 

 it capable of doing very great service in several disorders; 

 but at the same time its effects on the nervous system are so 

 uncertain, and frequently so great, as to make the utmost 

 caution necessary in the administration. Too large a quan- 

 tity occasions violent sickness, with headache, giddiness, 

 drowsiness, and other dangerous symptoms; and indeed its 

 effects upon the system are so uncertain, and often so power- 

 ful, that it must always be administered with the greatest cau- 

 tion. The leaves, applied externally, ease pain, and abate in- 

 flammation ; and the Arabians apply them to burns and ulcers. 

 As a ridiculous application of this plant, it may be noticed, 

 thet an ointment made of the leaves with hog's lard was used 

 by Solano de Luque, a famous Spanish physician, to cure 

 consumptions; the patient was to be buried for sometime up 

 to the chin in the earth, and .afterwards rubbed with this oint- 

 ment! It should always be borne in mind, that the genuine 

 properties of this plant, of the fifteenth species, (Woody Night- 

 shade,) and of the Atropa Belladonna, are all three nearly the 

 same. This species is a common weed on dunghills and in 

 gardens. All its varieties, like itself, are annual, and are pro- 

 pagated by sowing the seeds in spring, on a bed of rich earth, 

 where the plants are designed to remain. When they come 

 up, thin them to at least two feet distance. In July and 

 August they will flower, and the seeds will ripen in autumn. 

 A plant or two of the tenderer varieties may be set in pots 

 and trained to sticks, to be removed into the green-house in 

 autumn. During the winter, when the fruit is ripe, they will 

 make a pretty appearance. 



40. Solanum Ethiopicum ; Ethiopian Nightshade. Stem 

 unarmed, herbaceous; leaves ovate, repand, angular; pedun- 

 cles fertile, one-flowered, drooping. Root annual; fruit red, 

 large, depressed, so deeply furrowed as to be in a manner 

 cut into lobes, hard. Native of China, Cochin-china, and 

 Japan, where it is cultivated for the table. This is propa- 

 gated by seeds, which should be sown upon a hot-bed in the 

 spring, and the plants afterwards treated in the same manner 

 as has been directed for the Capsicum; with which treatment 

 this plant will thrive, and produce plenty of fruit annually. 



41. Solanum Melongena; Large-fruited Nightshade, or 

 Egg-plant. Stem unarmed, herbaceous; leaves ovate, tomen- 

 tose; caliees armed. Herbage branched, clothed with starry, 

 not very dense pubescence; flowers pale violet, or purplish, 

 large, drooping; peduncles axillary, thickened, bent down, one- 

 flowered, most commonly solitary, but not unfrequently two or 

 three together; fruit large, egg-shaped, shining, two-celled, 

 many-seeded, esculent. ~The varieties are, 1. With an oblong 

 violet-coloured fruit. 2. With an oblong white large fruit. 



3. With a globular violet-coloured fruit. 4. With a globular, 

 white, or variegated fruit. In the first, the fruit is ovate, 

 about the size of a swan's egg, of a dark purple on one side, 

 and white on the other: sometimes it is white, and from that 

 the species has obtained the name of the Egg-plant ; some- 

 times it is yellow or pale red. In the second, the fruit is 

 commonly eight or nine inches long, taper and straight, 

 purplish or white. In the third, it is oblong and incurved, 

 yellowish, and largest at the end. The fourth differs greatly 

 from the others; the stalk and leaves being armed with very 

 strong thorns, the leaves larger and deeply jagged on their 

 sides, the flowers larger, and the fruit long, taper, and white. 

 The fruit of the first is commonly eaten by the inhabitants of 

 Asia, Africa, and America. The Spaniards cultivate it in 

 their gardens under the name of Barenkeena; and the Turks', 

 who eat it, call it Badinjan; the Italians name it Melongana, 

 i. e. Mala Insana (Mad-apples); and the inhabitants of the 

 British West Indies, Brown John, or Brown Jolly. Browne, 

 however, says, that the Brown Jolly, or Bolangena, of Jamaica, 

 is a rough prickly sort. The plant, he says, lives some years, 

 and seldom rises above three or four feet in height. It was 

 first introduced by the Jews, and bears a number of large 

 berries, which being sliced, pickled for a few hours, and then 

 boiled to tenderness, are used instead of greens. In the East 

 Indies the fruit is broiled, and, being peppered and salted, is 

 reckoned very delicious; but Dr. Russel remarks, that though 

 Melongena is cultivated for eating in the Levant, the Insanum 

 (the 45th species) is the kind used in the East Indies. It was 

 cultivated by Gerarde in 1 597, under the name of Mad or Rag- 

 ing Apple. The different sorts or varieties are propagated by 

 seeds sown upon a moderate hot-bed in March. When the 

 plants come up, transplant them into another hot-bed, about 

 four inches asunder, observing to water and shade them until 

 they have taken root; after which give them a great share of 

 air in warm weather. Water them frequently, and when they 

 fill the frame, which will be by the middle or end of May, 

 transplant them into a rich spot of ground, at two feet dis- 

 tance, or into the borders of the pleasure-garden, preserving 

 a good ball of earth to the roots. Water them plentifully till 

 they have taken root. About the middle of July the fruits 

 will appear, and then, if the weather be dry, water the plants 

 ofien, to increase the number and size of the fruit: in August 

 it will ripen. In hot countries it is esteemed a delicacy, but 

 is a mere curiosity in England. 



42. Solanum Sabinerme; Spear-leaved Nightshade. Stem 

 almost unarmed, shrubby ; leaves lanceolate, elliptic, quite 

 entire, smooth above, tomentose beneath; cymes mealy. 

 Flowers collected into umbels, which stand erect, and come 

 out from the side or at the end of the branches; they are of 

 a bright blue colour, and are succeeded by round berries, which 

 are yellow when ripe, and of the size of small black cherries. 

 Native of the West Indies. This, and all the following 

 species which are natives of the same climate, or of the East 

 Indies, must be raised from seed on a hot-bed early in the 

 spring. When the plants are fit to remove, put each in a 

 separate small pot filled with fresh rich earth; plunge them 

 in a moderate hot-bed of tanners' bark, and shade them from 

 the sun until they have taken new root; after which admit a 

 large share of fresh air to them in warm weather, and water 

 them frequently. Towards the end of June, harden them 

 gradually; and soon after remove them i-nto the stove, where 

 they must have as much free air as possible in warm weather; 

 but as the cold approaches in autumn they must be carefully 

 protected, and in winter require a moderate share of warmth. 

 Some of them will bear exposure to the open air in a warm 

 situation, and in the height of summer; but in general it is 



