60 POTATOE. 



having been wrecked on the coast of Lancashire, 

 the cultivation of them soon became general. But 

 the native place of the potatoe is still doubtful ; 

 and all that can be said with certainty is, that it 

 came from South America. 



It is remarkable that Virginia, the country from 

 which, it was at one time supposed, potatoes were 

 first brought to Europe, was afterwards saved from 

 famine by a supply of them from Ireland. Linnaeus 

 took great pains to introduce the culture of the 

 potatoe into Sweden, but it was not until near the 

 end of the last century that it became general in 

 that country. 



Go and ask the gardener for some of the blos- 

 soms, and you will see that they are in the first 

 order of the fifth class. It is commonly supposed 

 that what we eat is the root; but this is not pre- 

 cisely true, the potatoe itself being no part of the 

 root, but a kind of underground stem, which 

 botanists call a Tuber. 



EDWARD. 



Here is one bunch with white, and another with 

 purple flowers. Are they only varieties ? 



MOTHER. 



That is all ; the plants with white flowers are 

 said to afford white potatoes, and those with purple 

 flowers, red ones. I have been told that in many 



