SOLANACEJE. 326 SOLAR MICROSCOPE. persicum, Mandragora, Datura, Petunia, Nicoti- ana, Salpiglossis, and Schizanthus. SOLAN GOOSE. See Gannet. SOLANO. See Simoom. SOLANUM (Lat., nightshade). A genus of ■widely distributed spiny, downy, or smooth herbs or shrubs of the natural order Solanaceae, containing several hundred species, particularly abundant in tropical South America and the West Indies. The species almost always contain more or less solanin, an alkaloid said to occasion distress wlien the plants are eaten too freely. By far the most important of all the species is So- Idiniiii tiihcrosum, the potato (q.v.). in which solanin is found in considerable quantity. Of the species with edible fruit, the principal is Solaniim melongena, the egg-plant. Solanum Dulcamara, the bittersweet, and Solanum nigrum, HORSE-NETTLE (SolaDvm CaroliueDse). the common nightshade, are both common in the United States, having been introduced from Europe. The berries of SoIaniim stiijonacetim are used as a substitute for soap, and in Australia those of 'several species are eaten by the natives, some with and others without cooking. In the United States there are a dozen or more indige- nous species, some of which, as Solanum Curoli- notse, the horse-nettle, and Holanum rostratum, are very spiny troublesome weeds. SOLAR. An upper chamber or loft. The only private apartment in the old baronial halls was so called. It was placed over the pantry, at one end of the ball, and served as parlor and sleeping apartment for the baron and his family. SOLAR CYCLE. See PERion. SOLARI. s6-la'r6 (SOLARIO), Andrea (c.1400-1515). A Lombard Milanese painter of the High Renaissance. He is frequently called Andrea del C4obbo, after his elder brother Cristoforo. the sculptor, who seems to have brought him up and whose artistic influence may be seen in Andrea's delicate modeling of the heads. Together they went to Venice, where Andrea executed many paintings in the manner of Bellini. On his return to Milan he fell com- pletely under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci, and his standing was such that in 1507, when Cardinal George d'Amboisc summoned Leonardo to France. Andrea was sent in his stead. He fin- ished his decorations of the Cardinal's chapel at Gaillon in 1509, after which he seems to have gone to Flanders. The latter part of his life was not passed in Southern Italy, but probably at ililan. In color, chiaroscuro, and subtle modeling of heads, Solari approached nearer Leonardo than any other of bis disciples. His portr.aits display a characterization and strength that suggest Hol- bein, and his execution is of great delicacy. His principal paintings include the portraits of a Venetian senator and of Longoni (150.3). in the National Gallery (London) ; a "iladonna." "John the Baptist," and "Saint Catharine" (1400), in the Erera (ililan): a "Crucifixion" (1.503), a "Male Portrait," and the "JIadonna of the CJreen Cushion," in the I.onvrc; a "Riposo" (1515) and "Ecce Homo, in the Poldi Collection, Milan, which is especially rich in his works; and the altarpiece of the Certosa at Pavia. SOLARI I SOLARIO), Ceistoforo (called II Gonno, the liunchback) (c. 1-150-1523) . A Lom- bard sculptor and architect of the Renaissance. The events of his life are little known. Of the works which he executed while with his brother Andrea at Venice a "Saint George" survives in the Church of the Carita. In 1495 he was ap- pointed ducal sculptor to Ludovico Sforza, and in 1498 he executed his masterpiece, the tomb of Duke's wife, "Beatrice d'Este," in Santa Maria delle Grazie. The monument was destroyed after the fall of the Duke, l)ut the recumbent figures of himself and wife were taken to the Certosa of Pavia. They are charmingly realistic, and thor- oughly in the style of the Early Renaissance. For the Certosa, Cristoforo also executed a "Pieta," and probably many of the figures of the facade. The sculptures which he executed for the cathedral at Milan cannot be distinguislu'd among the myriads of others, but his statue of "Christ" in the sa<?risty shows the influence of Michel- angelo. In 1519 he was appointed chief architect of the cathedral. His chief architectural work is the cupola of Santa 5Iaria della Passione (1509). • SOLAR MICROSCOPE (Lat. solarh: relating to the sun, from .so/, sun; connected with (ik. ijXios, helios. Skt. sfiin. scar, AS. sol, Goth. sairil. It. mil. Lith., Lett., OPruss. saiilc. sun, and ultimately with Eng. siiii). An instriunent for projecting magnified images of minute objects on a screen, through the agency of the smi's rays. The micro.scope consists of a brass tube which is fastened to the interior side of a closed window- shutter over a hole in the latter, and a reflector so placed that the rays of sunlight falling on it are reflected into the tube. They are then collected by a powerful double convex lens, and brought to a focus on the object, which is placed on a stage at the opposite end of a tube. An enlarged image of the object thus illuminated is then produced by a second lens or system of lenses upon a white screen. Should the object be opaque, the rays of light reflected from the mirror are concentrated bv the double convex lens on another mirror near the opposite end of the tube ; they are then re- flected upon the back of the object, and diverge on the system of lenses which form the image.
