SOLA 
shrubby ; leaves in pairs, one smaller than the other 5 flow¬ 
ers in cymes.—Native of the West Indies. 
11 . Solanum fugax, or fugacious nightshade. — Stem 
shrubby, dichotomous, divaricating ; leaves lanceolate, quite 
entire, smooth; peduncles solitary, axillary, one-flowered; 
calyx ten-toothed.—Native of the Caraccas. 
12. Solanum geminatum, or two-flowered nightshade.— 
Leaves ovate, entire; calyxes ten-toothed, smooth; pedun¬ 
cles axillary, in pairs, one-flowered; stem scandent.—Na¬ 
tive of Cayenne, where it was found by Von Rohr. 
13. Solanum retrofractum, or broken nightshade.—Leaves 
ovate, smooth; branches axillary, retrofracted; umbels ax¬ 
illary and terminating, sessile; calyxes truncate.—Native of 
South America. 
14. Solanum stellatum, or starry nightshade. — Stem 
shrubby, scandent, flexuose; leaves ovate, smooth, acumi¬ 
nate ; peduncles subgeminate, one-flowered, axillary; ca¬ 
lyxes unequally toothed. 
15. Solanum dulcamara. Woody nightshade, or bitter¬ 
sweet.—Stem frutescent, flexuose; upper leaves hastate; 
racemes cymed. Root perennial, woody.—Native of Europe, 
Africa and Siberia, in moist hedges, shady places and the 
sides of ditches : flowering in June and July. The berries 
are ripe in September and October. 
16. Solanum tuberosum’. Tuberous-rooted nightshade, 
or common potatoe.—Stem herbaceous; leaves pinnate, 
quite entire; peduncles subdivided. The potatoe is well 
known for its tuberous root. Stem from two to three feet in 
height, succulent, somewhat angular, striated, slightly hairy, 
frequently spotted with red, branched ; the branches long and 
weak. Leaves interruptedly pinnate, having three or four 
pairs of leaflets, with smaller ones between, and one at the 
end larger than the rest; the leaflets are somewhat hairy, and 
.dark green on the upper surface. The flowers are either 
white or tinged with purple; or, as old Gerarde describes 
them, of a light purple, striped down the middle of every 
fold or welt with a light show of yellowness. The fruit is a 
round berry, the size of a small plum, green at first, but black 
when ripe, and containing many small flat roundish white 
seeds. Native of Quito. 
17. Solanum lycopersicum. Love-apple, or tomato.'— 
Stem herbaceous; leaves pinnate, gashed; racemes two- 
parted, leafless; fruits smooth. The one commonly culti¬ 
vated in the south of Europe to put into soups and sauces, 
to which it imparts an agreeable acid flavour. The fruit in 
this is very large, compressed both at top and bottom, and 
deeply furrowed all over the sides, red or yellow.—Native of 
South America. 
18. Solanum pseudo-lycopersicum, or false tomato.— 
Stem herbaceous; leaves pinnate, gashed; racemes simple; 
fruits subvillose. 
19. Solanum nigrum. Common, or garden nightshade — 
Branches round; leaves quite entire, hirsute. Stem herba¬ 
ceous; leaves ovate; tooth angular; racemes distich, nod¬ 
ding. Root annual, much branched. This species is com¬ 
mon in Europe, Africa and America, both in cultivated and 
waste ground, especially on dunghills: flowering from June 
to September.—There are eight varieties of this species. 
20. Solanum melohgena. Large-fruited nightshade, or 
egg plant.—Stem herbaceous; leaves ovate, tomentose; 
peduncles pendulous, incrassated; calyxes unarmed. The 
egg plant is a native of Asia, Africa and America, where 
the climate is warm enough.—There are three varieties. 
—The remains of this section are, Solanum triquetrum, scan- 
dens, lyratum, Tegore, quercifolium, laciniatum, radieans, 
havanense, triste, racemosum, corymbosum, quadrangulare, 
repandum, bonariense, macrocarpon, pimpinellifolium, Peru- 
vianum, montanum, nidiflorum, iEthiopicam, subierme, lon- 
giflorum and muricatum. 
II.—Prickly. 
. 21. Solanum insanum, or round-fruited prickly night¬ 
shade.—-Stem herbaceous; leaves ovate, tomentose; pedun¬ 
cles pendulous, incrassated; calyxes prickly. Annual. 
N U M. 331 
22. Solanum torvum.—Stem shrubby; prickles crooked; 
leaves subcordate, ovate, sinuate, tomentose; rachis prickly; 
clayxes unarmed.—Native of Jamaica, Hispaniola and the 
Bermuda islands, in hedges. 
23. Solanum volubile, or twining nightshade. ■— Stem 
shrubby, scandent; leaves angular; petiole; rachis and 
calyx prickly.—Found in the woods of Hispaniola and in 
the West Indies. 
24. Solanum ferox, or Malabar nightshade. — Stem 
prickly, herbaceous; leaves cordate, angular, tomentose, 
prickly; berries rough-haired, covered with the calyx.—Na¬ 
tive of Malabar. 
25. Solanum Campechiense, or yellow-spined nightshade. 
—Stem prickly, rough-haired; leaves cordate-oblong, five- 
lobed, toothed; calyxes very prickly.—Native of La Vera 
Cruz, in New Spain.—There remains of this section Solanum 
fuscatum, mammosum, hirtum, paniculatum, aculeatissi- 
mum, Virginianum, Jacquini, Xanthocarpum, coajulans, Ja- 
maicense, Indicum, Carolinense, sinuatum, sodomeum, Ca- 
pense, marginatum, stramonifolium, Vespertilio, sanctum, 
hybridum, tomentosum, polygamum,obscurum, Bahamense, 
giganteum, flexuosum, lancsefolium, lanceolatum, eleagni- 
folium, polyacanthos, igneum, Milleri, trilobatum, lycioides, 
biflorum, album, dichotomum, procumbens, angustifolium, 
quercifolium, scandens, Houstoni, umbellata and race¬ 
mosum. 
Propagation and Culture. —All the species from the 
Cape of Good, and other warm climates, require an open 
airy glass case or warm greenhouse in winter, but in summer 
may be placed abroad in a sheltered situation. All the an¬ 
nuals are of course propagated by seeds; the shrubby plants 
by layings or cuttings. 
The potatoe is highly valuable for its tuberous esculent 
root. These roots may be obtained for use plentifully almost 
the year round : the early sorts, being planted forward in the 
spring, often afford tolerable crops fit to take up in the be¬ 
ginning of June and in July following, especially in rich 
warm grounds; but the main crops are permitted to continue 
growing till autumn, as about the latter end of October or 
beginning of November, when the stalks or haulm begin to 
decay, at which time the roots will be arrived to full ma¬ 
turity ; and being then taken out of the ground, and housed 
in some close dry apartment, keep in good perfection for 
eating all winter^ and spring, until the arrival of the new 
crops in the following summer. 
With regard to the properties of the different sorts or 
varieties of this root, so far as they relate to their usefulness 
as food, or their nourishing qualities, there is probably no 
very material difference; but insomuch as their agreeable¬ 
ness for the purpose of eating by man is concerned, there is 
considerable diversity; some sorts being naturally farinaceous 
and mealy, while other kinds are heavy and clayey, or waxy, 
the former of which are, for the most part, highly desirable 
and greatly relished, while the latter are disagreeable to and 
disrelished by many. The red sorts were formerly held in 
great esteem, and supposed the best; and though they are 
most probably in no respect inferior to those of the white 
kinds, these have of late, in general, been much preferred, 
especially the round, the oblong white or whitish red, and 
the kidney sorts, as being more productive, more saleable 
in the markets, and the most desirable for eating. 
The best and most useful varieties, in each kind, should 
be cultivated in sufficient and suitable proportions. The 
early sorts are, however, the most proper and suitable for 
being cultivated in gardens in most cases. 
It is of importance in the garden, as well as the field, to 
have good sized potatoes for sets, or for taking the sets from, 
whatever the sort may be, as the very small potatoes or chats, 
as they are called, never answer well in this intention. And 
it is equally important to have a frequent change of the seed 
or sets which are employed for raising the crops, as every 
two or three years, new, or such potatoes as are fresh from 
other grounds, being found highly useful in preventing de¬ 
generacy and promoting the goodness and abundance of 
the 
