318 PENTANDMA. MONOGYNIA. Solanum, 
SOLA'NUM. Bloss. wheel-shaped: Anthers slightly united, 
each opening with two pores at the top : Berry two- 
celled. 
S. jOuLCAMAhiA. Stem without thorns, shrubby, flexuose: upper 
leaves halberd-shaped: flowers in cymose bunches. 
are the best remedies, where the use of the stomach pump cannot be quickly obtained. 
Vid. Ray’s account of the Mendicant Friar. E.) And children, allured by the beautiful 
appearance of the berries, have too often experienced their fatal effects. (Dr. Rutty, of 
Dublin, records the case of a child six years old, who, on eating only nine of the berries, 
grew comatose and died the next day. Where death ensues, the body soon putrifies, swells 
remarkably, is covered with livid spots, and blood sometimes flows from the mouth, nose, 
and eyes. E.) Tumours of the breasts, even cancerous, are said to have been resolved by a 
topical application of the fresh leaves. Dr. Graham in Med. Communicat. vol. i. p. 419, 
says, he found great benefit from a poultice made of the roots, boiled in milk, and applied 
to hard ill-conditioned tumours and ulcers; and relates a deplorable case, in which this poul¬ 
tice effected a perfect cure. There is no doubt but their external application may be produc¬ 
tive of good effects in certain cases, but the following instance shows that their application 
is dangerous when the skin is broken : A lady who had a small ulcer a little below one of 
her eyes, which was supposed to be of a cancerous nature, put a small bit of the green leaf 
upon it. In the morning the uvea of that eye was so affected that the pupil would not 
contract, even in the brightest light; whilst the other eye retained its usual powers. The 
leaf being removed, the eye was gradually restored to its former state. This could not be 
an accidental effect, for it was repeated three different times, and the same circumstances 
attended each application. Ray Hist. 6'80. (The powdered leaf would probably be more 
manageable.—The caterpillars of Phalcsna antiqua and brassicce feed upon its foliage. E.) 
The juice of the ripe berries stains paper of a beautiful and durable purple. (We learn from 
the Edin. Dispens. that Mr. Brandes, apothecary in Salz-Uffeln, has discovered in this plant 
a new alkaloid, upon which its narcotic virtues depend. The Atropia may be obtained se¬ 
parate, but Mr. B. urges the necessity of caution in the examination of these salts. Even 
the vapour of their solutions causes dilatation and paralysis of the pupil; and during the 
whole time of the experiments Mr. B. experienced violent head-ache, vertigo, and nausea, 
so that he could scarcely continue them. On tasting a small quantity of Sulphate of 
Atropia, he suffered extreme confusion of head, trembling in all his limbs, rigors and heat, 
action of the heart scarcely perceptible, and vomiting. Yet this virulent poison may 
become an excellent remedy with further experience. Besides its narcotic power, it 
promotes all the excretions. From its effect in dilating the pupil for some time, Prof. 
Reimarus tried with success the dropping a little of the infusion into the eye, a few hours 
before performing the extraction for the cataract, with a view of facilitating the operation. 
A solution of the extract is the nostrum which itinerant occulists use too indiscriminately, 
though sometimes with wonderful effect. A young lady was enabled to recover vision, by 
keeping the pupil dilated during the day, by application four times a day. Its good effects 
did not diminish in eight years’ use.—Connected with this deleterious herb, (Solanum 
lethale of the older writers), is a remarkable historical event, which, however at the time 
enrolled among the annals of patriotism, must, in a more civilized age, be reprobated as an 
atrocious instance of barbarian perfidy. According to Buchanan, in the reign of Duncan I. 
King of Scotland, (afterwards murdered by the tyrant Macbeth), Harold the Dane invaded 
England, while his brother Sweno made a descent upon Scotland. Landing in Fife, he 
gained a signal victory, and pursued the Scots to the ancient Perth, where the remnant of 
their army scarcely retained the power of resistance. The Scottish monarch possessing little 
martial energy, entrusted the conduct of affairs to his lieutenants, the wily Banquo and 
the aspiring Macbeth. While the latter was employed in raising fresh forces, the former 
negociated a truce ; engaging likewise to supply provisions for the hostile army. The 
liquors sent proved a deadly potion from an infusion of the Dwale. The invaders drank so 
freely and unsuspectingly, that they were quickly overpowered and slaughtered by their 
treacherous foes, and with difficulty re-embarked even their king. E.) 
