8 ON THE INDIVIDUALITY 



mon crab ; and the large strawberries now supplied to the 

 London market are but seedlings of the little /Upine. 



(30.) The duration of the life of an individual potatoe is 

 altogether unknown, for it is uncertain whether a single 

 plant is capable of being indefinitely propagated, or 

 whether after a certain time it becomes feeble, and ceases 

 to live from mere old age. There is a strong feeling gene- 

 rally in favor of this latter hypothesis with gardeners 

 and farmers. 



(31.) The potatoe plant belongs to the nightshades, or 

 genus Solanum, and is called botanically the Solarium tu- 

 berosum. It is grouped in the same natural family with 

 very many poisonous plants, such as the tobacco, belladon- 

 na, stramonium, henbane ; aad the plant itself contains a 

 poisonous ingredient, which I shall hereafter describe. 



(32.) The first figure of a potatoe is to be found in Ge- 

 rard, Herbal (1597). He there calls it Batata Virginiana. 

 He states that " the root is thick, fat, tuberous, not much 

 differing in shape, color, and taste from the common 

 potatoe, saving that the roots hereof are not so great nor 

 long ; some of them are as a ball, some oval or egg- fashion, 

 some larger, some shorter, the which knobby roots are fast- 

 ened into the stalks with an infinite number of thready 

 strings. (Plate 1.) 



(33.) " It groweth naturally in America, where it was 

 first discovered, as report says, by Columbus, since which 

 time I have received roots hereof from Virginia, otherwise 

 called Nurenbega, which grow and prosper in my garden 

 as in their own country. 



(34.) " The Indians do call this plant ' pappas/ meaning 

 the roots, by which name also the common potatoes are 

 called in those Indian countries. We have the name 



