150 



prejudices that were overcome only by the perseverance of Parmen- 

 tier, and the countenance of the king. 



We must not suppose that the potato when first carried to Europe 

 was the same thmg that it now is, nor wonder that people mistook 

 the seed-balls for the part to be eaten. There was some room for 

 the opposition it encountered. Heriot says the roots were as large 

 as walnuts, or a little larger ; even if we suppose he meant English 

 walnuts, the size of the potato would not be very formidable, Capt. 

 Bowles, of the British Navy, says, that in some parts of South Ameri- 

 ca, " it is a common weed In the garden, but too bitter for use." Not 

 many years ago wild potatoes from South America were cultivated 

 in England and bore an abundant crop, the largest of which were of 

 the size of a pigeon's egg, and disagreeably bitter, while the vines 

 were seven feet long. Scarcely any vegetable has been more 

 changed by cultivation, both In size and quality. We can form some 

 idea of the change, by recalling to mind what the long-red was forty 

 or fifty years ago. Farmers raised It for hogs, and thought the hogs 

 had a hard bargain, so poor and watery Avas It. Climate, soils, and Im- 

 proved methods of cultivation, have produced changes in the potato, 

 as in many other vegetables. The rich plum of our gardens Is the 

 wild beach plum improved by culture. Celery, so mild and sweet, 

 is produced from the coarse, rank smallage. The cherry, in its wild 

 state. Is small, hard and bitter. The potato has passed through this 

 transforming process. Fi*om poor, watery and innutrltious. It has 

 been cultivated into a wholesome, pleasant-tasted and nourishing 

 article of food ; next to wheat, an article of the first importance to 

 mankind. It combines the advartages of large yield, easy culture, 

 adaptation to many varieties of soil, and a great amount of nutritive 

 matter. From no other crop can so much food be obtained on an 

 acre of land, with the same expense, except the tropical banana. In 

 no other thing Is the influence of climate more evident, demonstrat- 

 ing that though man can dwell in all climates, nothing else can. In 

 the south of Europe potatoes are less extensively cultivated than in 

 the north ; chiefly because the climate is unfavorable to their growth, 

 as Louisiana is less suited to their culture than Maine. Whereas in 

 the south of Europe, Indian corn is raised abundantly, while In the 

 north it is scarcely known. Such facts teach us the importance of 

 commerce. It not only exchanges t'.ie productions of different 

 countries, but it transfers fruits, and vegetables, and flowers, and 



