54? POTATOE. 
Some writers have supposed it was the deadly night- 
shade which produced those strange and dreadful effects 
that are described by Plutarch to have been experi- 
enced by the Roman soldiers, under the command of 
Antony, during their retreat from the Parthians: - 
* Their distress for provisions was so great that they 
'were compelled to eat of plants unknown to them. 
* Among others, they found an herb of which many 
'ate; these, shortly afterwards, lost their memory and 
their senses, and wholly employed themselves in 
" turning over all the stones they could find ; then, 
"being seized with vomiting, they fell down dead." 
The leaves of the deadly nightshade have sometimes 
been used externally, and with good effect, in cases of 
cancer; and in ulcers and tumours of different kinds. 
They are likewise given, internally, in infusion; but the 
sufferings of the patient, however small the dose may 
be, are so dreadful that few practitioners like to resort 
to them. 
67. POTATOE (Solanum tuber osum) is a well known 
edible root, which zvas originally imported into this country 
from America. 
No root with which we are acquainted is so valuable 
to mankind in temperate climates, as the potatoe. In 
some countries, particularly in Ireland, it forms a most 
important article of food to the lower classes of inha- 
bitants. By the English peasantry the potatoe is by 
no means esteemed as it deserves. In addition to its 
value for culinary uses, it might, in a very essential 
degree, be made to serve as a substitute for bread. If 
duly prepared, and mixed with a nearly equal portion 
of wheat flour, it may even be made into loaves. A 
kind of cheese may be made, by reducing potatoes to 
the consistence of paste, adding an equal quantity of 
the curd from which cheese is made, with a little salt 
and some other ingredients, mixing the whole together, 
and forming them in moulds. The Germans prepare a 
favourite dish by slicing boiled potatoes and pouring 
