1836.] Royle's Botany, 8fC. of the Himalayas and Cashmere. 409 



caped from a state of cultivation, as the illustrious Humboldt argues 

 that it must have travelled north in * the course followed by the Incas 

 in their conquests.' But as it was introduced into England from Vir- 

 ginia in 1586 by Sir W. Raleigh, and not known to the Mexicans in 

 the time of Montezuma, he concludes it as probable, that if the English 

 colonies did not receive it from South America, this plant was originally 

 wild in some country of the northern hemisphere, as it was in Chili* 

 This conjecture has been singularly confirmed by the potato being 

 found wild on the Pic d'Orizaba by Deppe and Schiede. (D. Don). 



" The potato, we are informed by Dr. Ainslie, was introduced into 

 India from the Cape of Good Hope, and some of excellent quality are 

 produced in the Mysore country, particularly at Bangalore and Nundy- 

 droog. They are grown all over India (Roxb.), and of a very fine 

 quality in the cold weather, or from October to March, along the plains 

 of India from Patna to Loodiana. Dr. Wallich states, that ' they are 

 planted in the valleys and lower hills of Nepal, sons to afford fresh 

 crops all the year round : the roots are planted in February, June, and 

 November, and gathered after three months.' They were introduced 

 into the northern mountains, and grown in the neighbourhood of Simla, 

 at an elevation of near 7,500 feet ; and by Major Young, on the moun- 

 tains north of Deyra, at an elevation of 6,700 feet ; so that Mussooree 

 made its first appearance on the map by the name of the Potato Gar- 

 den. Their quality was subsequently much improved by Captain 

 Townsend raising some from seed, which in the third year became of 

 enormous size, and of very good quality. They are now becoming very 

 generally cultivated, both in the hills and plains of Northern India j 

 and it is fortunate both for sellers and consumers, that those grown in 

 the former come in when the others are going out of season. Potatoes 

 are in some places becoming adopted as food by the natives of India, 

 though more slowly than could be wished ; at this we need not be sur- 

 prised, as even in France their use was not generally adopted until af- 

 ter their introduction into Europe more than two hundred years, and 

 then only owing to the persevering efforts of the philanthropic Par- 

 mentier, round whose tomb, in Pere la Chaise, they are now yearly 

 planted: so that M. Fee remarks, ' verite frappante, toujours repetee 

 et toujours houvelle : il faut deployer plus d'activite et plus de ressour- 

 ces d'esprit pour faire du bien aux hommes que pour leur mure.' 



" Indebted as India is to the New World for the capsicum and potato, 

 there is yet another plant, which, though not to be compared with the 

 last in real importance, is still more valuable as an article of com- 

 merce. This is the Tobacco, which from being the solace only of the 

 red American, has become one of the luxuries of the rich, and almost 

 a necessary of life for the poorer inhabitants of a great portion of the 

 globe. The Hindoo, slow to adopt strange customs, has been caught 



