1 88 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



the skin, that slips off so easily from new potatoes, 

 lie the most nutritious elements. A thick paring 

 throws away these, and sends the inner mass, 

 chiefly starch, to the table. 



Peeled potatoes should be plunged into hot 

 water, so that the albumen coagulates and seals 

 up all the contents when cooking begins. One 

 gets by this method all the flavor and the value of 

 the tubers. The common, wasteful method is to 

 peel away the part in which the best of the pota- 

 to lies, soak them in water, then put them on to 

 boil in cold water. The water drained off when 

 potatoes are "done" contains certain acids, be- 

 sides other undesirable elements. For this reason, 

 it has no food value, and should never be saved. 



SWEET POTATO 



The Spanish name, Patata, comes from the 

 Peruvian, Papa, name of a wild morning-glory, 

 native to tropical South America, and China. 

 The Spaniards learned to eat the sweet tubers that 

 the Incas cultivated on the west slopes of the 

 Andes. They are now grown in the warm parts 

 of all countries, including the East and West 

 Indies. China cultivated the vegetable some 

 centuries before the Christian Era, so we can 



