SOL 
known by the name of Sheffield plate, 
comprising a great variety of useful and 
ornamental articles, became another per- 
manent subject of manufacture. To open 
channels for the consumption of these com- 
modities, all the northern part of Europe 
was explored by the mercantile partner, 
Mr. Fothergill. A wide and extensive 
correspondence was tlius established, the 
nndertaking became well known, and the 
manufacturer, by becoming his own mer- 
chant, eventually enjoyed a double profit. 
Impelled by an ardent attachment to the 
arts, and by the patriotic ambition of form- 
ing his favourite Soho into a fruitful semi- 
nary of artists, the proprietor extended his 
views, and men of taste and talents were 
now sought for and liberally patronised. 
A successful imitation of the French or 
moulic ornaments, consisting of vases, tri- 
pods, candelabra, &c. &c. extended the 
celebrity of the works. Services of plate, 
and other works in silver, both massive and 
airy, were added, and an assay office was 
established in Birmingham. Mr. Watt, 
the ingenious improver of the steam-engine, 
is now in partnership with Mr. Boulton, 
and they carry on at Soho a manufactory 
of steam-engines, not less beneficial to the 
public than lucrative to themselves. This 
valuable machine, the nature and excellen- 
cies of which are described in another place, 
(see Steam-engine), Mr. Boulton has ap- 
plied to the operation of coining ; and to 
the rolling of iron from bars into thin 
sheets ; to the purposes of button-making, 
and a number of other mechanical opera- 
tions of the highest utility to the national 
wealtli and prosperity. 
SOIT FAIT COMMEIL EST DESIRe', he it 
done as it is desired, a form used when the 
king gives the royal assent to a private bill 
preferred in parliament. 
SOL, or Sou, a French coin made up of 
copper mixed with a little silver. 
Son, the sun, in astronomy, astrology, 
&c. See Sun. 
Son, in chemistry, is gold; tlius called 
from an opinion that this metal is in a parti- 
cular manner under the influence of the 
sun. 
Son, in heraldry, denotes Or, the golden 
colour in the arms of sovereign princes. 
SOLANDRA, in botany, so named in 
honour of Daniel Charles Solander, a Swede, 
a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
and order. Essential character: calyx 
bursting; corolla clavate, funnel form, very 
large; berry four-celled, many-seeded. There 
SOL 
is but one species, viz. S. grandiflora, great 
flowered Solandra, a native of Jamaica. 
SOLANUM, in botany, nightshade, a 
genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
and order. Natural order of Luridse. So- 
lanesB, Jussieu. Essential character: co- 
rolla wheel-shaped; anthers subcoalescent, 
opening at top by a double pore; berry 
two-celled. There are ninety-three spe- 
cies, of which the following are the most 
remarkable. S. dulcamora, woody night- 
shade, a native of Britain and of Africa, is a 
slendSr climbing plant, rising to six or more 
feet in height. The leaves are generally 
oval, pointed, and of a deep-greeri colour ; 
the flowers hang in loose clusters, of a pur- 
ple colour, and divided into five pointed 
segments. It grows in hedges W'ell sup- 
plied with water, and flow’ers about the 
end of June. On chewing the roots, we 
first feel a bitter, then a sweet taste ; hence 
the name. The berries are said to be poi- 
sonous, and may easily be mistaken by 
children for currants. The younger branches 
are directed for use, and may be employed 
either fresh or dried ; they should be gather- 
ed in the autumn. This plant is generally 
given in decoction or infusion. Several au- 
thors take notice, that the dulcamora par- 
takes of the milder powers of the night- 
shade, joined to a resolvent and sapona- 
ceous quality. S. nigrum, garden nightshade, 
common in many places in Britain about 
dunghills and waste places. It rises to 
about two feet in height. The stalk herba- 
ceous; the leavfes alternate, irregularly oval, 
indented, and clothed with soft hairs. The 
flowers are white; the berries black and 
shining. It appears to possess the delete- 
rious qualities of the other nightshades in a 
very high degree, and even the smell of the 
plant is said to cause sleep. The berries 
are equally poisonous with the leaves, caus- 
ing cardialgia and delirium, and violent dis- 
tortions of the limbs in children. In an- 
cient times it was employed externally as a 
discutient and anodyne in some cutaneous 
affections, tunrefactions of the glands, ul- 
cers, and disorders of the eyes. A variety 
of tlie solannm nigrum, a native of the West 
Indies, is called guma by the negroes. It 
is so far from having any deleterious qua- 
lity, that it is daily served up at table as 
greens or spinach. It has an agreeable bit- 
ter taste. S. lycopersicnm, the love-apple, 
or tomato, is cultivated in gardens in the 
warmer parts of Europe, and in all tropical 
countries. Tiie stalk is herbaceous: the 
leaves pinnated, oval, pointed, and deeply 
