252 On the Native Country of the Wild Potatoe, $c. 



an American botanist, that he had found the Solanum tubero- 

 sum wild, both at Monte Video, and in the vicinity of Mal- 

 donado, as well as from Captain Bowles, who had resided a 

 considerable time at Buenos Ayres, and who had told him 

 that this plant was a common weed in the gardens and neigh- 

 bourhood of Monte Video. 



The above statements certainly confirm the existence of a 

 plant in sufficient abundance near the shores of the Rio de 

 la Plata, which Mr. Lambert identifies with Commerson's 

 specimen ; but the proof that it is the Solanum tuberosum, 

 in opposition to the decision of Mr. Dunal, rests only on 

 the opinion of Dr. Baldwin, and Captain Bowles, without 

 the usual satisfactory evidence of specimens, which have not 

 been supplied by either of these gentlemen. 



In order to elucidate the question as much as possible, I 

 applied to M. Desfontaines, Director of the Museum of 

 Natural History in the Jardin du Roi at Paris, for permission 

 to have a drawing made of Commerson's original specimen, 

 which was deposited in the Herbarium under his charge. 

 With a liberality and kindness which I cannot too highly 

 compliment, the entire specimen was without delay trans- 

 mitted to me. An inspection of the annexed engraving (see 

 Plate X.) which is correctly made from the whole of the 

 plant preserved, will probably decide the question as far as 

 respects Commerson's plant. It will be observed that the 

 specimen has much the appearance of being in a dwarf or 

 stunted state. The label affixed to it is thus inscribed: 

 " Hispanis Tomates — flores sunt palliduli — de la plage du pied 

 du Morne de Monte Video en Mai, 1767." The size of the 

 blossom is evidently larger than that of the S. tuberosum 



