January  14,  19C4. 
JOURNAL  CF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
39 
Caspar  Bauhine,  in  his  Pliytopinax  sen  Enenmeratio  Plan- 
tarnm,”  published  at  Basil  in  lo9(i,  first  bestowed  upon  it  tho 
botanical  names  it  still  retans — Solanum  tuberosum;  and  his 
description  is  also  the  first  occurring  that  is  full  as  well  as 
accurate.  Some  of  the  particulars  intimate  a  knowledge  o!  the 
consequences  of  certain  modes  of  treatment  tliat  we  have  been 
lately,  and,  it  would  .seem,  mistakenly,  considering  of  recent 
discovery.  The  root,  he  .says,  is  round,  but  not  completely  .so, 
of  a  tawny  or  dark  reddish  colour,  and  is  usually  dug  out  of  the 
earth  in  the  Avinter,  being  replanted  in  the  siwing.  “  Never¬ 
theless,  if  left  in  the  .soil  it  will  again  vegetate  in  the  spring. 
Very  often  the  root  becomes  rotten  after  it  has  put  forth  the 
stem.”  It  was  known  as  the  Spanish  or  Indian  pappar,  and 
endured  withoiit  difficulty  the  climate  of  Europe,  for  he  had 
seen  it  in  the  open  gardens  of  some  phy,sicians  in  the  Nether¬ 
lands. 
In  h  is  “  Prodronius,”  published  in  1671,  Bauhine  gives  a 
drawing  of  the  Potato,  showing  the  tubers  as  both  round  and 
oblong,  and  enters  still  more  fully  into  its  description.  Ho 
says  it  Avas  first  brought  from  Virginia  to  England,  and  from 
thence  Avas  exported  to  Erance,  and  from  the  latter  countiy 
Avas  distributed  to  other  parts  of  Europe.  In  Virginia  it  is 
called  openaAvek,  as  is  stated  by  Peter  Cieca  and  in  Gomara’s 
“  History  of  the  Indies.”  About  Quito  it  Avas  called  papas, 
and  thence  it  Avas  sometimes  called  the  Indian  or  Spanish 
papas ;  and  in  Germany  grublingbaum,  that  is,  the  tuber¬ 
bearing  shrub.  Bauhine  says  that  he  first  delineated  it  in  1590, 
from  a  specimen  in  the  garden  of  Dr.  Scholtz,  Avho  probably 
received  it  from  Clusius. 
Peter  de  SiA-’i’y,  Lord  of  Walhain,  had  the  Potato,  in  1587, 
from  a  friend  of  the  Pope’s  legate  in  Flanders.  It  Avas  brouglit 
from  Italy  under  the  name  of  tortufoli,  a  name  applied  to  all 
underground  tubers  by  the  Italians.  The  Lord  of  Walhain 
gave  two  of  the  tubers  to  Clu.sius  in  1588.  (“  Clusius  Histoj-y 
Plant.”) 
Our  countryman,  Gerard,  in  1596,  specifies  the  Potato,  under 
the  title  of  Papus  hyspanicus,  in  the  catalogue  of  plants  culti- 
A'ated  by  him  in  his  garden  at  Holborn.*  In  his  “  Herball,” 
publtshed  the  year  folloAving,  he  describes  the  Potaco 
accurately.! 
Aftei’  particularising  the  Sweet  Potato,  Avhich  he  calls 
“  Sisarum  Peruvianum,  sine  Batata  Hispanarum,  Potatus  or 
Potatoes,”  he  proceeds  to  the  consideration  of  the  common 
Potato,  under  the  title  of  “  Potatoes  of  Virginia.  Battata 
Virginiana  sive  Virginianorum  et  Papi^us.”  The  Avoodcut  and 
the  description  demonstrate  that  the  plant  he  had  before  him 
Avas  our  common  Potato ;  and  he  proceeds  to  observe  that : 
“  It  groweth  naturally  in  America,  Avhere  it  was  discovered,  as 
reporteth  C.  Clusius ;  since  Avhich  time  I  have  received  roots 
hereof  from  Virginia,  otherAvise  called  Norembega,  Avhich 
groAV  and  prosper  in  my  garden  as  in  their  own  native 
country.”! 
After  stating  the  time  of  its  blooming,  &c.,  Gerard  adds, 
“  The  Indians  call  it  papus  (meaning  the  roots),  by  which  name 
the  common  Potatoes  (sAveet)  are  knoAvn  to  them.  We  have  the 
name  proper  unto  it  mentioned  in  the  title,  because  it  hath 
not  only  the  shape  and  proportion  of  Potatoes,  but  also  the 
*  Catalogus  arborum  fniticum,  &c.  in  horto  J.  Gerardi,  civis  et  chirurgi 
Londinensis  nascentium.  London.  1596. 
I  Herball,  or  General  Hist,  of  Plants.  London.  1597. 
;  .4.t  the  end  of  the  preface  is  a  portrait  of  Gerard  ;  and  it  deserves  notice,  that 
he  holds  in  his  hand  a  sprig  of  the  Potato— leaves,  flowers,  and  fruit— as  if  he 
c  onsidered  it  one  of  the  most  remarkable  novelties  of  his  time. 
Pear,  Fondante  de  Thirriot. 
pleasant  taste  and  virtues  of  the  same  ;  so  Ave  may  call  it,  in 
English,  Potatoes  of  America  or  Virginia.  Being  likeAvise  a 
food,  as  also  a  meat  for  pleasure,  either  roasted  in  the  embers, 
or  boiled,  and  eaten  with  oil,  vinegar,  and  pepper  ;  or  dressed 
any  other  way  by  the  hand  of  some  cunning  in  cookery.” 
In  1633,  “  Thomas  Johnson,  citizen  and  apothecary,”  pub- 
li.shed  a  neAv  edition  of  Gerard’s  “  Herbal,”  and  it  is  very 
apparent  that  the  Potato  had  then  improved  under  cultivation, 
for  the  tubers  there  represented  by  him  are  large,  and 
resembling  the  Jidys  noAV  cultivated  in  form ;  AA'hereas  those 
portrayed  by  Gerard  are  small  and  globular,  like  those  produced 
by  the  plant  in  its  Avild  state. 
(To  be  continued.) 
Agricultural  Returns  of  Great  Britain,  1903 :  Potatoes. 
Statement  shoaving  the  Estiaiated  Total  Produce  and  Yield  per  Acre  in  Great  Britain  in  the  Year  1903,  with  Cojiparisons 
EOR  1902,  AND  THE  AVERAGE  YiELD  PER  AcRE  OF,  THE  TeN  YeARS  1893-1902. 
1 
j  CROPS. 
Estimated 
Total  Produce. 
Acreage. 
Average  Estimated 
Yield  per  Acre. 
Average 
OP  THE 
Ten  Years 
1903. 
1902. 
1903. 
1902. 
1903. ' 
1902. 
1893-1902. 
' 
1 
i 
Tons. 
Tons. 
Acres. 
Acres. 
1 
Tons. 
Tons. 
Tons. 
^England  . 
2,041,023 
2,225,569 
402,725 
! 
412,739 
5  07 
j 
5  39 
5-96 
1 
) 
Wales . 
131,846 
155,508 
30,197 
31,446 
4-37 
4-95 
5-65 
POTATOES  ^ 
Scotland  . 
740,844 
813,111 
■  131,364 
129,695 
5-64 
6-27 
5-75 
1 
1 
^Great  ISrilain . 
2,913,713 
3,194,188 
561,286 
573,880 
1 
5T6 
i 
5  57 
5  89 
