ROOT CROPS. 209 



Chili, tlioiigli recently it lias been said to grow wild in Peru, 

 New Granada, and Mexico. Humboldt quotes De la Vega as 

 saying, that ini the times of the Incas, maize and potatoes, and 

 in the warm regions, bananas constituted the basis of the 

 nourishment of the Indians.* Clavigero says " the potato was 

 brou'i'ht into ^lexico from South America, Us native hotne.f 

 The Abbe Molina asserts that it grew wild in almost every 

 field.:]: Sir Walter Raleigh speaks of having seen potatoes in 

 Guiana ;§ but probably these were sweet potatoes, the climate 

 of Guiana not being adapted to the Solanum Tuberosum. 

 Darwin, in the " Voyage of a Naturalist," says : " The wild 

 potato grows on these islands (the island of Chonos and others 

 on the Pacific Coast of South America) in great abundance, near 

 the beach. The tubers were generally small ; but I found one 

 that was two inches in diameter. When boiled they shrunk 

 much, and were watery and insipid, without any bitter taste." 

 There is no question that it was found wild in Chili, nor that 

 from Chili it was carried to Southern Europe by the Spanish 

 colonists. 



But how it reached England is not so evident. The opinion 

 has long prevailed that it Was introduced from Virginia into 

 England by Sir Walter Raleigh, in 1586. Even so discriminat- 

 ing a writer as Humboldt is deceived by the authority of Sir 

 Joseph Banks, and others, and takes great pains to account for 

 its existence in Virginia, aware that it was indigenous nowhere 

 else in North America. It would be difficult to show that 

 Raleigh ever was in Virginia. The colonizing expedition in 

 which he was concerned reached Albemarle, some distance 

 further south. There is reason to believe that the misunder- 

 standing arose from a confusion of names. The early naviga- 

 tors, careless of botanical distinctions, may have applied the 

 name of potato to the Solanum Tuberosum, and the Batatas 

 Edulis or sweet potato, the latter alone being indigenous in 

 the southern parts of North America. This was early carried 

 to England, and cultivated. It is several times mentioned by 

 Shakspeare and other writers. 



There is some conflicting testimony on this point ; for Gerard, 



* New Spain, Volume ii. p. 370. t History of Mexico, p. 27. 



X Nat. History of Chili, p. 108. § Works, Volume ii. p. 194. 



27* 



