34 HISTORY OF THE POTATO. 



Europe, perhaps a slight sketch of the history of 

 this extraordinary root may not be uninteresting, 

 a summary of the perusal of multitudes of volumes, 

 papers, treatises ! 



The sweet Spanish potato (convolvulus batatus), 

 a native of the East, was very early dispersed 

 throughout the continent of Europe ; and all the 

 ancient accounts, in which the name of potato is 

 mentioned, relate exclusively to this plant, a con- 

 volvulus : but our inquiry at present regards that 

 root now in such extensive cultivation with us, 

 which is an American plant (solanum tuberosum). 

 Perhaps the first mention that is known concerning 

 the root is that of the great German botanist, 

 Clusius, in 1588, who received a present of two of 

 the tubers in that year from Flanders ; and there 

 is a plate of it among his rare plants. The first 

 certain account which I know of by any English 

 writer is in Gerard, who mentions, in his herbal, 

 receiving some roots from Virginia, and planting 

 them in his garden near London as a curiosity, in 

 the year 1597. All the multiform tales which we 

 have of its introduction by Hawkins, ship-wrecked 

 vessels, Raleigh, and his boiling the apples instead 

 of the roots, are merely traditional fancies, or 

 modern inventions, with little or no probability for 

 support. There is some possibility that Sir 

 Walter Raleigh might have introduced the potato 

 into Ireland from America, when he returned in 



