63 



(Jon vol vulaceae. 

 Ipomoea Batatas, Lam. ; Sweet Potato, Spanish Potato. 



A perennial plant with a tuberous root and vine-like stems; 

 cultivated throughout the Tropics of the Old and New Worlds 

 and in many sub-tropical countries under upwards of 50 

 varieties. The roots or tubers are used for food in much the 

 same way as those of the common potato; they are also fed to 

 animals, but owing to the high percentage of starch they are 

 recommended to be mixed with some fodder of greater nitrogenous 

 value, as " Pea Nuts" (Arachis hypogaea) and other fodders in 

 Leguminosae (see p. 7) Cotton-seed meal or grain to form a 

 suitable ration. The stems and leaves (or vines) are good 

 fodder, green or dried, for rattle, sheep, and pigs. There is a 

 small trade between Barbados and this country and between 

 Algiers and Paris, in the tubers, and in 1913, 3,360 centals <»f 

 starch obtained from the tubers of this plant were imported into 

 the United Kingdom from Natal. 



The stems and leaves of Ipomoea digitata, Linn, of Tropical 

 Africa, India, &c, are used as fodder for cattle in India ("Watt). 



la. ix. 3 (1915) pp. 475-479. 



SOLANACEAE. 



Lycopersicum esculentum, Mill.; Tomato. 



Cultivated in most warm countries for the fruit. Tomato- 

 growing is an important industry in Italy, Sicily, United States, 

 Mexico, "West Indies, Egypt, Canary Islands, &c. It is esti- 

 mated that in Italy, in the Province of Parma chiefly, there are 

 1,881,600 centals preserved annually for food — the skins being 

 used for feeding stock — and Italian Tomato Paste is largely 

 imported into the United States. Approximately 10.000,000 

 cases annually are turned out from the canning factories of th 

 United States, and shipments of ripe tomatoes from the Gulf 

 Coast region of Mexico are made in large quantities to the 

 \kets of that country. In the United Kingdom the imports 

 of fresh fruit in 1913, chiefly from Channel Islands, Canary 

 Islands, Spain, Holland, France, Portugal, and Italy, amounted 

 to 1,772,944 centals, and there is also a large trade in home 

 produce, grown under glass chiefly, and also out of doors. 



la- ix. 3 (1915) pp. 480-482. 



Solanum tuberosum, Linn. ; Potato. 



An annual plant, native of Chile, but spread by cultivation 

 over nearly the whole world — warm, temperate, sub-tropical, 

 and tropical. Used chiefly as a vegetable, but the production of 

 dried potatoes, starch, and flour, are important industries. 

 Potatoes are imported on a large scale from Holland (3169685), 

 Germany (2586144), France (1708157), Belgium (1122276), 

 Channel Islands (1233060 s ,, Spain (244186), Canary Islands, 

 Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Algeria, Malta, and Gozo, to a 

 total of 10.558,594 centals. The home production in the same 

 year amounted to 170,347,609 centals, under an acreage of 

 1,173,418. 546,769 centals of potatoes were exported from the 

 United Kingdom, and 1,010,104 centals of "Farina' 1 or 





ma 



