96 



On the Potatoe, 



I do not, however, think or mean to say, that Potatoes alone 

 are proper food for any human being : but I feel confident, that 

 four ounces of meat, with as large a quantity of good Potatoes, as 

 would wholly take away the sensation of hunger, would afford, 

 during twenty-four hours, more efficient nutriment, than could be 

 derived from bread in any quantity, and might be obtained at much 

 less expense. 



I now proceed to give an account of the result of the experiment 

 above-mentioned, which, I hope, will be found sufficiently interest- 

 ing to attract the attention of the Members of this Society. It has 

 been proved by many other persons, as well as by myself, that if 

 all the blossoms of a potatoe plant be picked off, as soon as they 

 become visible, the quantity of tubers will be considerably in- 

 creased, particularly if the variety be one which produces seeds ; 

 and I have shown that the cause why early varieties of the Potatoe 

 do not afford blossoms is the preternaturally early disposition of 

 the plant to generate its tuberous roots . The early varieties are 

 of dwarfish growth, and therefore improper for extensive field cul- 

 ture ; but I have found that, by cross breeding between those, and 

 varieties of tall and luxuriant growth, I can communicate to the 

 latter the habit of producing tubers only, without blossom ; with, I 

 have reason to hope, considerable advantages. I now possess a 

 good many of such varieties, selected from a very great number, 

 which prove totally worthless ; but many of those varieties which 

 do not produce blossom, have other defects, which render them of 

 little value. The stems of some of these are not strong and rigid 

 enough to support themselves and their foliage ; and they are con- 

 sequently beaten down by rain and winds. The foliage of one 

 stem consequently often becomes so placed as to shade the foliage 

 of another ; and as the whole material of the tubers is formed of 

 living matter, which is generated in the leaves only, and as all 



