SOL 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



SOL 



591 



of a light purple, striped down the middle of every fold or 

 welt with a light show of yellowness. The fruit is a round 

 berry, but black when ripe, and containing many small, flat, 

 roundish seeds. This root, which at the present moment 

 forms such an important and indispensable article in the diet 

 of the poor, and is cultivated in such immense quantities to 

 meet the incessant demands of every market, was, about two 

 centuries ago, only retained as a curiosity in some botanic 

 gardens. Gerarde, the celebrated gardener to Queen Eliza- 

 beth, so often mentioned in the course of this work, informs 

 us in -his Herbal, published in 1597, that he received the 

 roots of it from Viiginia, which grew and prospered in his 

 garden, as well as in their own native country: but, although 

 the fact be certain that this root came to us from Virginia, 

 it by no means follows that it is indigenous of that country ; 

 on the contrary, some think it will appear more probable that 

 it was first found by the Spaniards in Peru. The root called 

 Batata by the Spaniards, whence our name Potato, was com- 

 mon in Italy before the sixteenth century, where it is said to 

 have been as generally eaten with mutton as Turnips or 

 Parsneps, and also to have been used for feeding hogs ; but 

 if this had been the Potato now in general use, it is not pro- 

 bable that so much public attention would have been excited by 

 discovering that it was a native of the New World as well as 

 of the Old. For granting that it were, like the Convolvulus 

 Batata, a native of Peru, it is not less probable that it should 

 also be found in Virginia, from whence there is now strong 

 reason to suppose that Sir Walter Raleigh imported it into 

 Ireland ; and it is not a little remarkable, that neither in 

 Italy, Spain, Portugal, nor even in France, has it ever been 

 very generally cultivated or highly esteemed. In Italy the 

 prejudice against it was so great, that not half a century 

 since, when a ship load was sent to Naples, to relieve the 

 wretched inhabitants from a famine, it is said that they chose 

 to perish rather than feed upon them : and although they 

 have since grown wiser, especially in the northern parts of 

 that country, still the Potato is not in general use, and a 

 strong prejudice still exists against them, even in Portugal 

 and Spain. The ludicrous story advanced by Holt in his 

 Characters of the Kings of England, where the great and 

 lamented Walter Raleigh is represented as mistaking the fruit 

 as the edible part, is wholly without foundation. One con- 

 sideration only will prove it to be a mere fiction ; it is this, 

 that the Spanish Batata, already mentioned, had been long 

 well known to all Europe; and how then could it happen that 

 Sir Walter Raleigh should overlook their near resemblance, 

 and fall into so gross a mistake? It is generally agreed, 

 that the Potato quickly passed over from Ireland into Lan- 

 cashire, where it has ever since been cultivated with extraor- 

 dinary diligence and success, both as to the time in which it 

 is brought to market, and to the superior excellence of new 

 varieties, which they are continually raising from seed. Par- 

 kinson, in 1629, remarks, that the Potatoes of Virginia are 

 dressed in the same way as the Spanish kind : that is, being 

 roasted under the embers, peeled, and sliced, they were put 

 into sack with a little sugar ; or, they were baked with marrow, 

 sugar, spice, &c. in pies; or preserved and candied by the 

 comfit-makers. The importance of this root attracted the 

 attention of the Royal Society in the third year after its for- 

 mation, when a letter from Mr. Buckland, a Somersetshire 

 gentleman, was read : in this letter he recommended the 

 planting Potatoes in all parts of the kingdom, to prevent 

 famine ; and had not his judicious advice been long since 

 followed, there would have been many dreadful famines; 

 to prove the fact, we need only remind our readers of every 

 deficient harvest which has occurred within his own recol- 

 VOL, ii. 115. 



lection, and particularly of those preceding the years 1797-8, 

 when the poor must have perished in great numbers, had it 

 not been for this wholesome and most nutritious root. The 

 letter above mentioned was referred to a committee of the 

 Royal Society, who thanked Mr. Buckland in their Report, 

 which entreated those gentlemen who had lands, to plant 

 them ; and requested the pious and patriotic John Evelyn to 

 mention their proposal at the close of his Sylva. It appears, 

 however, that Evelyn did not think proper to comply with 

 the request ; for he seems not to have noticed the Potato 

 any where except in the Appendix to his Acetaria, where he 

 calls it, " a small green fruit, which being pickled is an 

 excellent salad ;" though in this, as it refers to the most 

 unpalatable part of the plant, we suspect few persons will 

 agree with him in opinion. He adds, that the root being 

 roasted under the embers or otherwise, is opened with a knife, 

 the Potato is buttered in the skin, and seasoned with a little 

 salt and pepper. Some, he continues, eat them with sugar, 

 together with the skin, which has a pleasant crimpness ; they 

 are also stewed, and baked in pies. Houghton, in 1699, 

 asserts, that Potatoes were brought from Ireland, where 

 they had supported the people when all their corn was de- 

 stroyed by the wars, into Lancashire ; where they then 

 abounded, and began to spread all over the kingdom : it is 

 amusing to observe how gravely he adds, " they are a plea- 

 sant food roasted or boiled, and eaten with butter and sugar!" 

 From these, and from subsequent testimonies, it is clear that 

 until the middle of the last century, the Potato, as an esculent 

 root, was still unknown in many parts of the country, and in 

 France at that time was looked upon with contempt, and left 

 wholly to the lower people ; so that though it afterwards 

 became the fashion fora time, it almost immediately fell back 

 again into disrepute. Thirty or forty years ago, says Mr. 

 Billingsley, (the Somersetshire reporter under the Board of 

 Agriculture, in 1798,) it was an extraordinary thing to see 

 an acre of Potatoes in one spot, and in one man's possession ; 

 whereas there are now many parishes in that county that can 

 produce fifty acres. In the preceding year, Arthur Young 

 informs us, that in Suffolk this root had not been cultivated 

 till within a few years; and in 1800 it appears that Potatoes 

 had become an universal article of diet in the North Riding 

 of Yorkshire, where they still constitute the most essential 

 article of the sustenance of the lower orders. It has now 

 found its way into every part of Wales and Scotland, and is 

 cultivated to a very great extent in the Highlands of the latter 

 country. When the Virginian Potato became first known in 

 Europe, all the fanciad properties of the Spanish were attri- 

 buted to it by some ; whilst others reprobated it as producing 

 the leprosy; and a modern writer has attempted to persuade 

 the good people of this country, that it is a most noxious root, 

 and has a great tendency to produce insanity ! The general 

 opinion, however, still considers it as a wholesome and a nou- 

 rishing food. The farinaceous varieties make a good starch, 

 and bread, either mixed with Wheat flour, or even by them- 

 selves ; though it is admitted that Potatoes are best eaten either 

 boiled or baked, whether by men or animals. To enumerate 

 all the varieties which have been raised from seed would be 

 impracticable: the following are the best known, and most 

 esteemed. 1. Apple; one of the kidney variety, cultivated in 

 Ireland, and the Isle of Man. 2. Black-a-moor ; which is a late 

 sort, and keeps well till August. It is very heavy, and yields 

 a good deal of starch : it is fit either for cattle or for the table. 

 The outer coat is sooty, but appears, when rubbed, of a dark 

 or bright purple. It will grow in moist heavy soils. 3. Cham- 

 pion. This has been preferred in Essex, because it did not curl: 

 it is early, and is also called Globewhite. 4. Cluster or Co- 

 7 L 



