256 On the Native Country of the Wild Potatoe, #c 



The appearance of these runners in such quantities induced 

 a doubt as to the identity of the plant with our common 

 Potatoe, which doubt was increased when it was ascertained, 

 that so late as the month of August no tubers had been 

 formed by the roots. The runners were however no other- 

 wise different from what are formed by the cultivated Potatoe 

 under ground, except that they were more vigorous, as well 

 as more numerous. 



The plants have recently been taken up, and all doubt 

 respecting them is now removed ; they are unquestionably 

 the Solanum tuberosum. The principal stems, when ex- 

 tended, measured more than seven feet in length ; The 

 produce was most abundant, above six hundred tubers were 

 gathered from the two plants ; they are of various sizes, a 

 few as large or larger than a pigeon's egg, others as small 

 as the original ones, rather angular, but more globular 

 than oblong ; some are white, others marked with blotches 

 of pale red or white; two of these were selected to be 

 drawn, and are represented at Figure 3, in Plate IX. The 

 flavour of them when boiled was exactly that of a young 

 Potatoe. 



The compost used in moulding up the plants was very 

 much saturated with manure, and to this circumstance I 

 attribute the excessive luxuriance of the growth of the stems ; 

 had common garden mould been applied, they would not 

 probably have grown so strong, and I suppose that whilst 

 the plants were thus rapidly making stems and leaves, the 

 formation of the tubers was delayed, for the production of 

 these has been the work of the latter part of the season ; 

 they cannot be called fully ripe, nor have they attained the 



