78 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



POTATOE.— SOLANUM TUBEROSUM. 



Natural order, Luridce. A genus of the 

 Pentandria Monogynia class. 



Potatoe is the English name of the tu- 

 berose-rooted esculent Lycopersicon, or Sola- 

 num, of botanical writers. It was evidently 

 so called on account of its similarity to the 

 batata, the Indian name of the sweet potatoe, 

 which was known in Europe at least thirty- 

 three years before this country was blessed 

 with the potatoe, which now forms alike the 

 rich man's luxury and the poor man's bread ! 



Peter Cicca, in his Cronical*, printed in 

 1553, tells us, that the inhabitants of Quito 

 and its vicinity have, besides maize, a tube- 

 rous root which they eat and call Papas. 



C. Clusius guesses this to be the root he 

 received from Flanders in 1598, during his 

 residence at Vienna. It was sent to him by 

 the Governor of Mons, in Hainault, who pro- 



* 



* Chap. xi. p. 49- 



