154 Mr. G. Ord on the Natural Habitat of the Common Potato, 



XXIII. — Notes on the Natural Habitat of the Common Potato ; 

 . and on its Introduction into Europe. By George Ord, Esq., 

 I^hiladelphia. Communicated by Sir W. Jardine, Bart. 



To Richard Taylor j Esq, 

 Dear Sir, 

 I HAVE the pleasure to send you a paper on the " Natural Habitat 

 of the Potato/^ from an esteemed and intelligent correspondent 

 in Philadelphia, Mr. Ord; and while that communication will 

 be interesting to all classes of your readers, whether they are 

 botanists or agriculturists, or mere seekers after general infor- 

 mation, it has been accompanied by a private letter, which I 

 consider of even more importance, as pointing out the state of the 

 disease in that root in a cultivated part of the New World, — the 

 opinions and feelings that are held regarding it there, as well as 

 of our endeavours to account for it and to arrest its progress. I 

 do not think that I shall be committing any breach of confidence 

 to my correspondent in prefacing his paper by some extracts from 

 the letter in question ; at all events, I trust he will only attribute 

 my doing so to a wish to communicate as much information as 

 possible upon a subject far more important to us than it can ever 

 be to our brethren across the Atlantic. 



Believe me. Sir, very sincerely, yours 



W.J. 



My dear Sir, Philadelphia, 28th Dec. 1845. 



Your letter of the 21st of November was received by me on 

 the 20th instant, together with the printed slips on the subject 

 of the potato disease, which it appears has occasioned great alarm 

 in various parts of Europe. 



The summer of this year has certainly been most unpropitious 

 to the cultivation of the potato, not only in your country but 

 also in this ; for our later crop has proved to be of inferior qua- 

 lity and the produce has been scant ; and in many places the dis- 

 ease in question has affected the tubers in the manner described 

 in the British publications on the subject. With us a wet and 

 cold season is greatly injurious to this vegetable. Frequent 

 showers when the plant is immature are beneficial, but Avhen the 

 tubers approach to maturity, temperate and dry weather is ne- 

 cessary to bring them to perfection. Had the last summer witli 

 you not been extraordinary for the quantity of rain which fell, 

 and the low temperature of the atmosphere, you would have had 

 no reason to complain of the scantiness of your crops or of the 

 destruction occasioned by the rot. In Pennsylvania we have two 

 crops of potatos, those planted at the opening of the spring, in- 



