THE POTATO TERCENTENARY. 



177 



fchc coantiy. Even so late as 17G0 (or tliereaboats), Philip 

 Miller, in his " Gardener's Dictionary," says of potatoes, 

 that they were " despised by the rich, and deemed only 

 proper food for the meaner sort of persons." But after 

 this date they must have made rapid progress in public 

 esteem, seeing that at the present time, according to official 

 returns, the annual production of potatoes in the United 

 Kingdom is about six millions of tons — a total representing 

 upvvards of three hundredweight for each individual, man, 

 woman, and child. 



