144 The Thorn Apple. 



our own, that it is frequently found in waste places and on dung- 

 heaps, and is often found a troublesome intruder into the par- 

 terre, for the seeds being dug into the earth will remain for seve- 

 ral years, and vegetate when again turned up to the air. When 

 sown on a rich soil the plants grow to a great size, which 

 renders them unsuitable for the flower borders ; but amongst 

 flowering shrubs it has a good effect both by its large foliage and 

 its long tubular flowers which appear from May to September, 

 according to the latitude. In the natural history of the Stramo- 

 nium, this singular provision of nature is observed, that at night 

 the leaves nearest the flowers rise up and enclose them, so as to 

 form a shelter from the humidity of the air. The generic name 

 of Datura, by which the plant is known throughout Europe, is 

 the original one by which it was received from the Turks. It is 

 called Thorn Apple from the nature of its fruit. Nicolaus Mo- 

 nardes, a Spanish physician, tells us in his work published in 

 1564, that he received the first seeds of this plant from Peru, un- 

 der the Indian name of Cachos ; and that it came strongly 

 recommended to him as a medicinal plant, which the Indians, 

 as well as the Spaniards in Peru, held in high estimation. The 

 Purple Thorn Apple—Datura Fastuosa — of which there is 

 a variety with double flowers, is much more desirable for the 

 garden than the common species. The flowers of this species 

 are of a fine purple on their outside, and of a glossy white 

 within. These have an agreeable odor for the moment, but if 

 long inhaled become less pleasing. This species is a native of 

 the East Indies and Egypt, and was first cultivated in England, 

 by Mr. Miller, in the year 1731, and brought over some twenty 

 years afterwards 



It is not impossible to have a flower in bloom every day in 

 the year ; there is a book wherein each particular one is dedicated 

 to a Roman Catholic Saint, and the successive times of its 

 blooming described. This is Hone's Every Day Book, published 

 in London, in 1826. 



