48 IRISH POTATOES. 



yards, where they will undergo decomposition, and 

 be resolved into good manure* Thus the leaves will 

 subserve a double purpose, 



The common potato, the Solatium Tuberosum of 

 Natural History, was originally found in the woods of 

 America, from whence it was carried to Ireland, and 

 afterwards to England, where it flourished so well 

 that it took the name of Irish potato. Its introduc- 

 tion into these countries, was about the beginning of 

 the Seventeenth Century. There are many species 

 of the Irish potato, but it is useless to enumerate them 

 here. 



There are a variety of insects, worms, grubs, &c., 

 which commit their ravages on the potato ; but besides 

 these, it is subject to several diseases, among which is 

 the curl, which affects the root. . Agriculturists have 

 long endeavored to account for this disease; some 

 thinking it a blight, others that it is caused by frosts, 

 after being planted, or by improper planting. The 

 disease is divided, by some authors, into three stages. 

 First, the half curl, in which the leaves are long and 

 curled. The season must be very good, or the pota- 

 toes are small and watery. Second, the full curl, in 

 which stage the potatoes scarcely attain the height of 

 seven inches ; arrive soon at maturity, and soon de- 

 cay. The potatoes are of a dark red color, and are 

 not so large as a nutmeg. In the third stage, they are 

 called corrupted potatoes. In this stage they do not 

 appear above the ground, are very small and very 



