Vegetables 



255 



By permission of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading 



GARDEN CABBAGE 



Copyright S. & S. 



POTATOES 



The Potato {Solatium 

 tuberosum) is the most import- 

 ant of all vegetables from the 

 point of view of the inhabit- 

 ants of the British Isles. Its 

 native country and the date of 

 its introduction into Britain 

 have been subjects of much 

 discussion, but there can be 

 no doubt of its being in- 

 digenous to various parts of 

 South America — plants hav- 

 ing been found in a wild state 

 on the Peruvian coast, as 

 well as on the sterile tracts 

 of Central Chili. The Spani- 

 ards are believed to have first 

 brought the potato to Europe 

 from Quito in the early part 

 of the sixteenth century. It 



afterwards found its way into Italy, and from thence it was carried to Mons in Belgium 

 by one of the attendants of the Pope's legate. In 1598 it was sent from Mons to the 

 celebrated botanist, Clusius, at Vienna, who states that in a short time it spread rapidly 

 throughout Germany. The first potatoes that reached this country were brought from 

 Virginia by the colonists sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, and who returned in 

 1586. They were planted on Sir Walter's estate near Cork, and were used for food in Ireland 

 long before they were even known, much less cultivated, in England. In the time of James I 

 they were so rare as to cost 2s. per pound, and are mentioned in 1619 among the articles pro- 

 vided for the Royal household. In 1633, when their valuable properties had become more 

 generally known, the Royal Society took measures to encourage their cultivation with the 

 view of preventing famine. However, it was not until nearly a century after the above date 

 that they were grown to any great extent in England. In 1725 they were introduced into 

 Scotland and cultivated with much success, first in gardens and afterwards (about 1760) 

 in open fields. 



In a wild state the tubers of the potato are very small, seldom exceeding the size of a walnut. 

 Under cultivation the plant has vastly improved and varieties innumerable have been raised. 

 These varieties differ considerably not only in size, form and colour, but in the length of time 

 taken to mature, and in being either waxy or dry and floury. It has been found that when 

 a particular variety has been grown in the same soil for any length of time it degenerates 

 and requires to be renewed either by seed, but more frequently by resorting to " sets " of 

 sorts which have been grown in different soils and locality. In this way varieties are 

 continually changing, and nearly every town or district has its particular favourite. 



Whilst the potato can be cultivated in almost any kind of soil and under widely different 

 conditions, and after planting with a minimum amount of attention, it nevertheless responds 

 to generous culture. A rich, light, warm soil suits it best, heavy cold soils being least desirable. 

 The " sets " may be planted any time from February to the end of May, but March and early 

 April are the best times. They should be planted in trenches four to six inches deep — 

 allowing six inches between each set with the early kinds, to twenty inches with the late 

 kinds. The trenches should be eighteen inches apart for the small-growing early kinds, and 

 thirty-six to forty inches for the strong-growing late kinds. The potato being a sub-tropical 



