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JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUEB AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ September 14, 1871. 



bandry," observed, " Although Turnips be usually nourished 

 in gardens, and be properly garden plants, yet are they, to the 

 very great advantage of the husbandman, sown in his fields in 

 several foreign places." In 1G84 this root is first mentioned 

 by Houghton aa food for sheep. The Carrot is indigenous in 

 our island, but its cultivation was long confined to our gardens. 

 The same remark applies to the Beet. Worlidge describes it in 

 his " Garden Tillage." The Blangold was first advocated as 

 food for stock by Dr. Lettsom in the early years of the present 

 century, and by General Beatson in 1811. It had been, how- 

 ever, tried in Lancashire successfully in 1790, and in Norfolk 

 about 1797. We may then well feel interested in the researches 

 of the horticulturist and the botanist in search of new plants, 

 denizens of perhaps far distant climes. When, indeed, we 

 remember that the Potato came to us from the New World, the 

 Mangold from an equatorial climate, the Swede from far colder 

 lands than our own, we may yet feel hopeful that other valuable 

 plants will yet reward the discoverer — plants of which future 

 agriculturists will reap abundant harvests. 



THE POTATO. 



It is popularly believed that we are indebted to Sir Walter 

 Raleigh for this most important of esculent vegetable foods, the 

 cultivation of which extends over a wider area than any other 

 food plant ; indeed, so universally is it diffused over the habit- 

 able globe, that it is found in almost every position where man 

 can subsist ; even in the Arctic regions it struggles for exist- 

 ence, producing stunted watery tubers in an imperfect state of 

 development, whilst it flourishes in tropical as well as tempe- 

 rate climates, so easily does it adapt itself to circumstances. 

 It ranks among the most useful of vegetable productions ; it is 

 highly prolific, and its value, which is incalculable, is hardly 

 understood to its fullest extent. 



The whole family of the Solanacese is suspicious — great 

 numbers are narcotic, and many of them poisonous ; though in 

 the case of Solanum nigrum (one of the Potato family), the 

 young and tender shoots, when cooked, are used as a vegetable 

 in some countries. It is curious to note that the poisonous 

 Bittersweet, the Tobacco plant, the Tomato, the Cape Goose- 

 berry, the Capsicum, the deadly Nightshade, and the Henbane, 

 the Thorn Apple, Mandrake, and Petunia, all belong to the 

 same genua aa the Potato ; which most excellent vegetable was 

 at first regarded with the eye of indiiJerence by our forefathers, 

 tmtil it was imported by Sir Walter Ri'eigh in the seventeenth 

 century, who endeavoured to attract public attention to it, and 

 cultivated it himself on his estate in Ireland. So, although 

 not actually the first to introduce it, he was, nevertheless, the 

 means of first bringing it into public notice. He could not, 

 of course, have been acquainted with one-half of its naeful pro- 

 perties, and little did he dream that in after years it would 

 radically revolutionise the diet of the country where it was first 

 cultivated. It was known by the Indian name of the Sweet 

 Potato, "Batatas," and under this name it continued to be 

 spoken of and written about for some time after its introduction. 

 We read that it was supposed that it would be found useful for 

 feeding " swine and other cattle." The scientific analysis of 

 the Potato is not within the province of this paper, and it will 

 be sufficient to say that it is rich in starch, that it does not 

 contain as much gluten as our cereals, and that it is wanting 

 in nitrogenous matter. It is, however, more nutritious than 

 any other of our succulent vegetables. To derive the necessary 

 nourishment from a diet almost exclusively consisting of 

 Potatoes, the stomach requires a considerable bulk of this kind 

 of food ; and it has been noticed that the Hindoo who lives on 

 lice, the Negro who lives on plantain, and the Irishman who 

 lives on Potatoes, are all, more or less, " pot-bellied," the Irish- 

 man, however, not so much so aa the others ; and this circum- 

 stance is attributable to their diet, which does not contain a 

 suifieient proportion of gluten, and so necessitates the con- 

 sumption of a large quantity of the food ; for Potatoes are not 

 nearly so nutritious as Wheat, and the constant employment of 

 them as a chief article of diet is not favourable to the develop- 

 ment of the physical powers; neither does it tend to eilirge 

 the mental faculties. In fact. Professor Mnelder, a celebrated 

 Dutch chemist, has said, that " the Potato is the cause of the 

 physical and moral degeneration of those nations who use it." 

 Potatoes have been .?aid to poseesa the advantage of solidity, 

 like bread, and to have the healthful properties of many fresh 

 vegetables, without their acidity. Aa an article of diet, when 

 not used exclusively, they are of untold value ; so universal 

 has the use of them become, that they are almost an essential 



dish at dinner, for who ever thinks of dining without Potatoes? 

 We have said that the Potato is wanting in mineral substances, 

 and it is curious to note how, in Ireland, this deficiency is 

 eupplied by the water, which is almost universally strongly im- 

 pregnated with mineral matter. 



The use of Potatoes is a preventive against scurvy, if not 

 an actual cure for it. Potatoes that have been exposed to the 

 air, and have become green, are unwholesome ; and new 

 Potatoes — i.e., unripe ones, have much to do with the preva- 

 lence of cholera and such like diseases during the summer 

 months. 



Humboldt has calculated that the quantity of ground which 

 will grow 30 lbs. of Wheat will produce 1000 lbs. of Potatoes. 

 In Ireland an adult will consume lOJ lbs. in one day. Potatoes 

 are narcotic, and ihe water in which they are boiled is unwhole- 

 some, if not deleterious ; but ihe process of boiling would seem 

 to free them from all that is narcotic or noxious in their juices, 

 imparting these objectionable properties to the water. As a 

 staple article of food, the Potato has been the means of pre- 

 venting famine ; though, on the other hand, the lower classes 

 of Ireland, being almost entirely dependant on this vegetable 

 for subsistence, have experienced some years of misery in con- 

 sequence of a universal failure in the Potato crops. 



The varieties of the Potato that are cultivated are numerous; 

 new ones are continually appearing ; and the best sorts that 

 are now sold in our markets are doubtless very superior in size 

 and quality (the effect of judicious cultivation) to the tubers 

 which Sir Walter Raleigh first introduced to notice. 



The soil in which it is grown will be found to have consider- 

 able effect in determining the quality of the Potato ; and almost 

 every district has its peculiar varieties, their names being quite 

 arbitrary or local. Most kinds are vastly improved by removal 

 to a different locality ; hence growers rarely use for many years 

 in succession their own tubers for seed, but continually renew 

 the stock by purchases from another district. One tuber will 

 produce as many separate plants as it has eyes, but a piece of 

 the Potato must be planted with each eye or shoot. The many 

 varieties differ in form, size, colour, and in their time of ripen- 

 ing; some are more prolific than others, some are naturally 

 waxy and watery, and some are mealy, which is an unfailing 

 characteristic of the best varieties. A mealy Potato is more 

 digestible and more wholesome than a waxy or watery one. 

 Various methods of cultivation are pursued with more or less 

 success in different localities. In France, the culture of the 

 Potato to a great extent is mainly due to the exertions of 

 Parmentier. 



We will only allude to the Potato disease which some years 

 ago attracted so much notice. Many persons do not know 

 what it is, and it would be sufficient to say that it is the efiect 

 of a mould, or species of fungus, " whose spawn attacks the 

 tissues of the plant in every direction, being present in the 

 tubers and stems as well as in the leaves." The growth of this 

 fungus is encouraged or retarded according as the season is 

 favourable or unfavourable to its development. Since the 

 ravages of this disease have become universally apparent, the 

 rapidly increasing cultivation of the Potato has received a slight 

 check. Potatoes are more important than any other vegetable 

 as a variety of human food, and on the score of their economy are 

 advantageously used in large quantities by the working classes, 

 though their nutritive value is not great. They are, however, 

 easily cultivated, easily kept, easily cooked, and easily digested; 

 but, being wanting in fat and nitrogenous matter, they require 

 to be eaten in conjunction with those kinds of food which will 

 supply the deficiency ; hence they are generally eaten with 

 meat, or with milk as in Ireland, or with curds as abroad. — 

 {Food Journal.) 



CITRON GOURD FOR PRESERVING. 



Neaelt half a century ago I met on the shores of Asia an 

 itinerant Persian, and, being then a student of his language, 

 detained him some time in conversation. Our discourse was 

 prolonged by the singular fact that he was a fellow townsman 

 of the only Persian I had ever known. Talk being over, I 

 asked him what he had to sell, and he opened his box, which 

 contained sweetmeats. Among others was a dry preserve made 

 of Gourd. It was simply luscious, without any particular 

 flavour, but of a Wbite Marseilles Pig one can say no more. 



Ob returning to Europe in after years the remembrance of 

 the Persian and his preserve induced me to try my hand with 

 Vegetable Marrow and Ohio Squash, but without success. 

 Having, however, seen an account of the Citron Gourd, it struck 



