that some exotic productions which we have ac- 
quired, perhaps only a few years, or it may be a 
century or two, are indispensible to our enjoyments, 
or even to our existence. If then, some of the pre- 
sent necessities of society are dependent on compa- 
ratively recent accessions to our list of cultivated 
vegetables, to what extent may we anticipate changes 
still to arise from other introductions which may 
hereafter be made, seeing that so great a portion of 
the earth’s surface remains unknown to man, or at 
least to man in a state of civilization. That portion 
of the world, which is now^ enveloped in barba- 
rism, may hereafter claim the merit of administer- 
ing to the taste of our refined successors, and we, in 
the retrospect, may be esteemed as having pos- 
sessed uncultivated palates, in using so generally 
a vegkable like the potatoe. Such is the mutabi- 
lity of all sublunary atfairs. 
The genus Solatium is very extensive, and the 
interest attached to it has been much increased of 
late years, by the introduction to this country, of 
new and beautiful species, many of them natives of 
tropical countries belonging to both hemispheres, 
and consequently, demanding hothouse culture. 
This renders them unsuitable for publication here ; 
but some of them will appear in the Botanist at 
an early period. 
The Solanum etuberosum is a perfectly hardy 
plant, and flowers abundantly for a long time. It 
may be increased by division of its roots, or rather 
underground stems ; and also by seeds. The as- 
pect or the soil in which it is planted, are not con- 
siderations important to its successful culture. 
