28 THE ROHAN POTATO. 



them under lock and key ; and they were cooked and 

 given to his cattle only before his own eyes. No one 

 could get them. The prince Rohan having a splendid 

 collection of cactuses, and among them some kinds 

 which the possessor of the potatoes took a great fancy 

 to, he begged the prince to give him some ; but the 

 prince would only do this for some of the potatoes, 

 money being no object. The amateur consented, and 

 gave him two potatoes, with a promise upon his honor 

 that he would never send any of them to Holland, 

 Belgium, England, Prussia, or Germany. By his for- 

 tunately not including France and Switzerland, the 

 prince was at liberty, without forfeiting his word, to 

 send some to France, which he did ; and from thence 

 they were imported to this country in the spring of 

 1836. So much for their history, which is very sin- 

 gular. The produce of this potato in Switzerland 

 was so great that it would hardly be believed': three 

 potatoes weighed, respectively, 13 lbs. 7 oz., 11 lbs. 9 

 oz., and 9 lbs. 13 oz. ! 



What I have now to state relates to their growth in 

 this country. Mr. Thompson, of Catskill, N. Y. was 

 the first who received any of these potatoes, eight or 

 ten of which cost forty-jive dollars. Judge Buel, after 

 cultivating the Rohan two seasons, gives the follow- 

 ing as his reasons for recommending them to the 

 public : 



First, because their quality for the table will jus- 

 tify it. If not superior, they are good. The flesh 

 is yellow, solid, and of good flavor. 



Secondly, because they admit of great economy 

 in seed. Two eyes is a sufficiency (and many of the 

 tubers have 30 or 40) to plant a hill, and three or four 

 bushels to plant an acre of ground. 



Thirdly, because they require comparatively little 

 labor in harvesting, a man being able to dig thrice as 

 many of them in a day as of ordinary kinds. The 

 tubers are very large, 110 of the largest completely 



