and on tts Introduction into Europe. . - 159 
spontaneously in Mexico; and this derives probability from the 
fact, that the early travellers enumerate it among the useful na- 
tural productions of Terra Firma. 
However, the South American origin of this precious vegetable 
is established beyond adoubt, The late Dr. Baldwin of the U.S, 
navy, a learned botanist, in a letter to Dr. Darlington, dated on 
board of the U.S. ship Congress at sea, July 7, 1818, thus 
writes: “I do not recollect that I imformed you, in any of my 
preceding letters, of my finding the Solanum tuberosum indiges 
nous about Montevideo and Maldonado. ‘This is the fact, al- 
though it is unknown to the inhabitants, who inform you that 
they cannot cultivate the common noble plant.”—Reliquie Bald- 
winane, p. 273. 
_ The evidences of Dr. Baldwin’s discovery were exhibited to the 
botanists of Philadelphia on his return from the voyage above 
alluded to: these were tubers of the plant. They were examined 
by a committee of the American Philosophical Society, composed 
of Joseph Correa de Serra, Zaccheus Collins and Dr. William P. 
C. Barton. The tubers were planted by Mr. Collins, and their 
vegetation proved the species. Tubers were likewise given b 
Dr. Baldwin to an excellent practical botanist, Col. Robert Carr, 
the proprietor of the Bartram Botanic Garden near Philadelphia ; 
and Col. Carr was equally successful in the cultivation of them. 
It is to be regretted that the respectable gentlemen who com- 
posed the committee of the American Philosophical Society did 
not give publicity to their investigations. If they had done so, 
they would have prevented a doubt which arose in the minds of 
the Huropean botanists as to the accuracy of Dr. Baldwin’s de- 
cision ; a doubt resulting from the belief that the usual satisfac- 
tory evidence of specimens had not been supplied by him. Col. 
Carr has informed me, that the tubers above mentioned corre- 
sponded as to their size and aspect with those figured in the 
work which I shall now speak of. 
Tn the first volume of the ‘Transactions of the Horticultural 
Society of London,’ a Society famed for its beneficial labours and 
splendid publications, there is a communication entitled “An 
attempt to ascertain the time when the Potato (Solanum tubero- 
sum) was first introduced into the United Kingdom,” written b 
Sir Joseph Banks, and read to the Society the 7th of May 1805. 
The conclusion of the learned author was, that “ the potato now 
in use was brought to England (from Virginia) by the colonists 
sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh in the year 1586,” This opi- 
nion, which appears to be prevalent, shall be the subject of eom- 
ment by and by. In the fifth volume of the same ‘ Transactions ’ 
there is a paper under the following title : “ On the native coun- 
try of the Wild Potato, with an account of its culture in the Gar- 
