44 COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



native country of which is not accurately known, though it 

 is now generally cultivated as a food-plant in Venezuela, 

 New Granada, and Ecuador. The plant was first introduced 

 to Kew between fifty and sixty years since, but it was found 

 to be unsuited for outdoor cultivation ; since then the roots 

 have been frequently re-introduced, but further trials have 

 proved that the English summer, is not sufficiently long to 

 mature them. They have, however, been recently introduced 

 both into the West and East Indies, and promise to become 

 established food-plants in both countries. Another plant 

 that attracted some attention during the early years of the 

 potato murrain as a suggested substitute was the TTllucus 

 tuherosus, an herbaceous plant belonging to the natural order 

 Chenopodiacese, a native of Peru and Bolivia, where it is 

 extensively cultivated for the sake of its tubers, which are 

 largely eaten as food. In appearance they are very like 

 potatoes, in their wild state about the size of hazel nuts, but 

 as cultivated at Kew in 1851 they grew to about two inches 

 long and one inch thick. The substance of the tubers is 

 close and waxy, and this was not improved by cultivation, 

 consequently they did not meet with approval. 



Under the name of Choco or Chatote the fruits of 

 Sechium edule, a climbing plant belonging to the Cucurbi- 

 tacese, and native of Tropical America, whence it has been 

 introduced to Madeii'a and the Atlantic Islands, is occasion- 

 ally seen in the London market. They are eaten simply 

 boiled, and are said to somewhat resemble a vegetable 

 marrow. They were first introduced thirty or forty years 

 since, but have never found much favour here. Within the 

 last two years the plants have been introduced into Ceylon, 

 India, and Singapore, where they seem to thrive and produce 

 a plentiful supply of fruits. 



Two of the most recent introductions to cultivated vege- 

 tables are the Shantung Cabbage (Brassica chiiiensis) and 

 the Crosnes {Siachys Sieboldi, better known as S. tuhenferd). 



