ON THE SUNBERRY 



experiments in plant development were made, 

 belongs to this family would naturally give me 

 an interest in the tribe. But I was particularly 

 attracted also because of the diversity of charac- 

 teristics among the members of the family. 



Here, on one hand, are the potato, the tomato, 

 and the eggplant, ranking among our highly im- 

 portant garden vegetables, and the strawberry- 

 tomato or ground cherry among the minor vege- 

 tables that have a good share of popularity; and, 

 on the other hand, closely related species are 

 bearers of the most powerful narcotic poisons, in- 

 cluding belladonna and hyoscyamus, drugs that 

 have an accepted place in the pharmacopoeia. 



Add that the tobacco plant is another member 

 of the family, and it is clear that this is one of the 

 most curiously versatile, and, from a human stand- 

 point, one of the most important plant tribes. 



My interest in the family extended beyond the 

 familiar plants just named, and included several 

 species of nightshade that are chiefly known as 

 roadside weeds and bearers of berries some of 

 which are eaten on occasion by country folk, but 

 which in the main have a bad reputation, some of 

 them being accounted highly poisonous. 



The name "deadly nightshade," applied to one 

 of the most familiar species, suggests the repute 

 in which these weeds are commonly held. 



