The Deadly Nightshade 



and employed for making other medical drugs. The 

 extract has a remarkable effect upon the pupils of 

 the eyes, and in the form of atropin is largely used 

 by ocuUsts to dilate the pupils. If one touches the 

 leaves and then rubs one's eyes, the sight will even 

 be effected by the sUght amount on one's fingers. 

 Its second botanical name Belladonna — ^beautiful 

 lady — refers to the Italian ladies' practice of using it 

 as a cosmetic to increase the apparent size of their 

 eyes, and hence to enhance their beauty. 



The plant stands in a genus all to itself, and its 

 family, the Solanacece, is but poorly represented so 

 far as our native plants are concerned. But since 

 the potato, the tomato and the tobacco are among 

 its members, it cannot be said to be an unimportant 

 family in a world-wide sense. 



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