178 



DICOTYLEDONS SOLANACE^E DIAGRAM 13. 



Tobacco. 



Tobacco Flower. 



the tobacco are arranged in pretty clusters, like those of the 

 potato ; and a capsule succeeds each flower, 

 containing small seeds which are sown 

 every year. 



Many solanacese bear 

 berries which are always 

 dangerous to eat, and some 

 are very poisonous. The 

 berries of the bitter-sweet, 

 or woody nightshade, which 

 grows in hedges, are first 

 green and then red ; they 

 have a sweetish taste, 

 which soon changes to 

 bitter. The berries of 

 the deadly nightshade are of a reddish 

 brown, and the calyx of the flower re- 

 mains adherent to them. This plant, 

 which is one of the most poisonous found 

 in this country, should be very carefully 

 avoided. It is generally very dangerous 

 to eat unknown berries, however tempting 

 they may look. It is easy to perceive 

 when children have been made ill by 

 eating the berries of the deadly night- 

 shade, for the pupil of the eye is very 

 Deadly Nightshade. much dilated, so that the iris is scarcely 

 visible. The child should be made to vomit immediately, and a 

 doctor should be sent for. 



Other solanaceas which are cultivated have highly esteemed and 

 wholesome fruit, such as the egg-plant and the tomato, as well as 

 the capsicum, the fruit of which is used in pickles. 



