ON THE POTATOE. 319 



acquire maturity in successive parts of summer and autumn, there is not 

 any crop which I conceive to be so certain as that of potatoes ; and it 

 has the advantage of being generally most abundant, when the crops of 

 wheat are defective : that is, in wet seasons *. And, I think, I shall be 

 able to adduce some strong facts in support of my opinion, that by a 

 greatly extended culture of the potatoe, for the purpose of supplying the 

 markets with vegetable food, a more abundant and more wholesome 

 supply of food for the use of the labouring classes of society may be 

 obtained than wheat can ever afford, and, I believe, of a more palatable 

 kind to the greater number of persons. I can just recollect the time 

 when the potatoe was unknown to the peasantry of Herefordshire, whose 

 gardens were then almost exclusively occupied by different varieties of 

 the cabbage. Their food at that period chiefly consisted of bread and 

 cheese, with the produce of their gardens, and tea was unknown to them. 

 About sixty-six years ago, before the potatoe was introduced into their 

 gardens, agues had been so extremely prevalent, that the periods in 

 which they, or their families, had been afflicted with that disorder, were 

 the eras to which I usually heard them refer in speaking of past events ; 

 and I recollect being cautioned by them frequently not to stand exposed 

 to the sun in May, lest I should get an ague. The potatoe was then 

 cultivated in small quantities in the gardens of gentlemen ; but it was 

 not thought to afford wholesome nutriment, and was supposed by many 

 to possess deleterious qualities. The prejudices of all parties, however, 

 disappeared so rapidly, that within ten years the potatoe had almost 

 wholly driven the cabbage from the garden of the cottagers. Within 

 the same period, ague, the previously prevalent disease of the country, 

 disappeared ; and no other species of disease became prevalent. I 

 adduce this fact, as evidence only, that the introduction of the potatoe 

 was not injurious to the health of the peasantry at that period ; but 

 whether its production was, or was not, instrumental in causing the 

 disappearance of ague, I will not venture to give an opinion. I am, 

 however, confident, that neither draining the soil (for that was not done), 

 nor any change in the general habits of the peasantry, had taken place, 

 to which their improved health could be attributed. 



Bread is well known to constitute the chief food of the French 

 peasantry. They are a very temperate race of men ; and they possess 



* Failures of crops of potatoes occur in Ireland, because the excessive poverty of the 

 peasantry compels them to plant their ground generally with less than one-fifth of the proper 

 quantity of potatoes ; and all the Irish varieties which I have seen have been unproductive, 

 though generally of exceedingly good quality ; the Irish mode of culture is also, I have reason 

 to believe, excessively bad. 



