54 
very palatable and the plant has not been able to compete 
successfully with wheat, rye and oats of the Old World. It is 
grown to some extent in England and Scotland at the present 
time, where the seed is fed to fowls and the leaves of the tender 
young plants are used as greens. 
The probable progenitor of the potato is still found wild in 
Chili and Peru. The Indians cultivated the potato on the up- 
lands of South America, but its use did not spread to the Mexican 
region. It is distinctly an American plant and should ag 
The 
plant was introduced into Europe in 1565, but its value as a food 
product was slow to be recognized. In fact, it was only about 
60 years ago that it was cultivated to any extent. Recently its 
use has spread rapidly and many new varieties have been 
developed 
The original home of the sweet potato is not known. This 
plant was cultivated at an early date in both Asia and America. 
It was a favorite food of many Indian tribes of tropical America 
and was grown, it is claimed, in North America as far north as 
Virginia 
With ete exception of the various tropical fruits and tuber- 
producing plants used as food which will be treated in other 
lectures in this course, we have now considered the pri a 
food plants cultivated by the various groups of American Indian: 
The common arrow-head (Sagitiaria latifolia) is a ce 
variable and widely distributed plant throughout the whole of 
the United States and is often very abundant in the shallow 
water along streams and lakes and in marshes or swamps. The 
plant produces ag ie rootstocks bearing tubers often as 
large as a hen’s egg. tubers were gathered and boiled, or 
roasted by all Indian ee of United States. It is never out of 
season. This plant was known as ‘‘Katuis” by the Indians in 
the vicinity of New York. It is the “‘Wappatoo”’ of the Colum- 
bia River Indians, frequently referred to in Lewis and Clark’ 
The arrow arum (Peltandra virginica) is a plant common in 
swamps and shallow water throughout eastern United States. 
4 
