growers should prevent this importation by growing 

 more, but this would not meet the case, as those which 

 are imported come if they realise as much as their feed- 

 ing value where grown. As many as possible are sold 

 at home, but those not required are exported, as it is 

 the only way to turn them into hard cash. It is 

 assumed that the profit is obtained on those sold at 

 home. 



Large quantities are grown in Jersey, where they 

 can be brought to maturity at a much earlier date than 

 in England. These realise the highest prices, as they 

 are put on the market when new potatoes are a luxury 

 restricted to the rich. When the English grower can 

 put his on the market the highest prices are no longer 

 attainable. Similarly the Scilly Isles, Canary Isles, 

 Malta, and Egypt have exported considerable quantities 

 during the past few years, which arrive before the 

 English potatoes are fit to dig, some in fact before the 

 Jersey potatoes are dug. This has been a source of 

 considerable loss to English growers, and no cor- 

 responding gain to the consumer, beyond the fact that 

 he can obtain a luxury a few weeks earlier in the 

 season, for the potatoes could be grown in England 

 equally well ; in fact, the quantity grown for culinary 

 purposes is in excess of requirements. 



Origin of Cultivated Species. 



The potato, Solanum tuberoswn, is a plant belonging 

 to the order Solanacece, in which order are several plants 

 employed for the sustenance and comfort of man. The 



