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TBch , Conn. 



Beech Nut Embedded in a Potato. 



BY O. A. FARWELL, DETROIT, MICHIGAN. 



On returning from my vacation tri]) 

 to the Pacific Coast last October, I was 

 very much surprised in being presented 

 by an aunt, Dr. Anna M B. Gray, of 

 this city, with what turned out to be a 

 very unusual freak of nature. Nothing 

 more or less than beechnuts embedded 

 in the starchy substance of a potato ! 

 The potato was procured in the usual 

 way from the food markets of Detroit, 

 Mich., but whether it is a product of 

 Michigan, Kentucky, or some other 

 state is unknown. The potato had no 

 unusual appearance, externally, the 

 skin being perfectly even and unbrok- 

 en ; the beech nuts, however, were dis- 

 covered, more or less deep in the po- 

 tatoes, after they had been peeled and 

 were being sliced. Several potatoes 

 contained these seeds some of which 

 were eaten by my aunt who says that 

 they had lost none of their flavor 

 through being made prisoners by such 

 a common staple of our daily diet. 

 Some of the potatoes contained hazel 



nuts, i.e., the seed. The accompanying 

 photographs show the potatoes with 

 the embedded seeds, and with the seeds 

 removed. How the seeds came to be 

 in their unique homes is a mystery. 

 Perhaps they formed part of the winter 

 storage of some squirrel or chipmunk, 

 what had been left over from the pre- 

 ceding winter's supply, the busy little 

 provider having stored up more than 

 was necessary for its simple wants ; 

 the plough of the farmer, perhaps, pas- 

 sed through the store house of food 

 scattering its wealth broadcast ; some 

 may have lodged against stones, roots 

 of stumps, or other unmovable sub- 

 stance ; in time, the small potato tuber 

 began to take shape in the near vicinity 

 of the scattered seeds ; as the tuber 

 grew and became larger it, perchance, 

 caught the seed between itself and the 

 unmovable stone, or other obstruction ; 

 as the pressure of the growing tuber 

 became greater, the potato skin was 

 ruptured in a more or less wavy but cir- 

 cular line around the seed ; the sub- 

 stance of the tuber finally surrounded 



THE BEECHNUT IN I UK FOTAIO. 



