POTATOS. 
897 
''like produces like " does not hold good; for had the develop- 
ment of the Potato been restricted by such limitations, it is 
probable that our present supply would be similar in character 
to those of which Gerarde speaks. And here it is necessary to 
refer to a misunderstanding arising from the fact that " seed 
Potatos" and "Potato seed" are sometimes regarded as synony- 
mous terms. " Seed Potatos " are grown from perfectly true 
and reliable stocks, the crops being carefully examined year after 
year with the special object of ensuring the perpetuation, unmixed, 
of any given variety. Frequently the tubers of an ordinary crop, 
No. 4. — Potato Flower. 
Fig. 83. 
which are too small for market, are kept back for planting, and 
dignified with the title " Seed Potatos." 
I need scarcely remind you that Potatos are mere enlarge- 
ments of underground stems, shortened and thickened, in which 
starch is stored up in smaller or larger proportion according to 
the characteristics of the several varieties. Like other under- 
ground stems, the tubers possess buds or eyes, from which, by 
fresh shoots, the plant is capable of redevelopment; and although 
the tubers may be preserved through the winter for planting 
again in the following spring, they are neither more nor less 
