The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1809-12-26 00:00:00

time hack, of being recalled home; all chance of
this been's to be ever. Lard Wellington it, how-
'eye?, se,* home fora time. The sick of the army
are all going down towards Lisbon in a day or two ;
this certainly looks like a same. In short, before
we can pceivibly attempt to advance, we 111114 have
very strong reinforcements indeed from .England.
We are all heartily tired of the country, and every
one more anxious than another to return home.—
The Spaniards, so far from being zealous Or pa-
triotic in the es•ive, are very much the reverie, said
seem to lie very indid,•rent übmit a hove goverument
they are wider."
-ar••••••''"fir'''W
To the EDITOR of 7'he BRITISH PRESS.

Ste--I have been long desirous of coin municating
a few observations to you, on a subject interestius
to all mankind, at least, to all who know what is
gond for them. You must remember, when a Se-
nator, celebrated for his exertions in tile cause of
hurnauity, pronounced ail eulogium on that nutri.
tem* root, vulgarly and corruptly deuominated, a
11
potatoe, descrobtrg it as a fued, which was out only
calculated to Make mei, atiouigvr moil more robust,
but actually taller, by tunny feet or niches. I target
which, and regretting that his nurse had out
given him a pap, made of that itivivoratiog escue
lent, instead actitsmion bread and milk.
I think you and the readers of your edinirable
Paper, will be pleased to hove a succinct history
of this farinaceous dainty, which, besides producing
witch extraordinary effecin, so highly improve* the
flavour of our favourite dinner—s rump steak.
Taking tins fur grunted, L 1111%11 selected from a
Work hardly ac.se,sible tog. nerid readers, a passage,
which gives a very pleasant account of a plant, of
late years so much in request. The Historiau time
introduces his account of it. He begins by saying,
" Cherries were brought into Europe, by Lucullus.
dues were introduced here later than in France, and
there they were not indigenous. \i'alistit signifies
• foreign not, Walleyes,. sine peregrine, levees. Wall
end Wales were so called by the Saxons for the
same reason. Cabbages were brought front Holland,
iti the time of Charles 11. when acebbege cost at least
a geniea—Guineas and cabbage* coining here to-
gether, the terms Were enovertible." The accuracy
of this account, is, however, suspected. Guineas
were NA coined in England, in 167 d, but that
cabbages were then introduced, should seem tat be
' • ,iiiiitlike—Anderson, in his History qf Commerce,
st tree them to have been brought hither from
Flanders, about the year le24—that they were well
known in England before the time of Charles 11.
Slialcapeare will tells us—
Esaiii..-Parea roam, Sir Min; good worts.
Fat -.Good worts! good c0064r0 !
Perhaps the plant is indigenous in this country,
as it is still found wild in many parts of this king-
dom, particularly about Dover. The varieties of
it, aid die preesitt improved state to which the
different sorts are brought, are the mere effect of
culture. As our ileighbours on the Contineut long
preceded as in horticultural improvement's, it is pro-
bable, that the phone, as raised and utneliorated by
art, was imported from thence; rod hence the noe
tem that it was an exotic.
Potatoee were introduced by Sir W. Raleigh,
into Ireland, from whence they were brought hare.
There is some account of them in a note in John-
won and Steresois Edition of Slialespeare. The
note is upon the passage. in Troilus and Cressida.
of " Luxury, with his potatoe finger," Act IV.
Sc. it. It is too long to be inserted in the usual
place, and is therefore oubjoined at the cad of the
play. The part more immediately reliving to the sub-
' ject, is wholly burrowed from ('ampbell's Political
'Survey, and in as follows: " It appears from J)r.
Campbell's Political Snreey of Great. Britain* that
potatoes were brought into Ireland about the year
1610, and they came first from Ireland into Lanca-
shire. It woo, however, 40 years before they were
much cultivated about London. At this time they
were distinguished from the Seenish by the name of
the Virginia Potatoes, •r Buttutas, winch is the In-
dian determination of the Spanish sort. The Indians
is Virginia called them Opeeritok. Sir Walter Ra-
leigh was the first who planted them in Ireland."--e
(Camp. Pul. Sure. vet. i. p. 911, Notes.)
Authors diger as to the nature of this vege-
table. us well us in respect of the country from
whence it originally came. Swilser cells it Midterm
Pernriantion, i. e. the Skirrei of Peru. Dr. Hull
says it is a Sofannnt ; and another very respectable
naturalist conceives it to be a native of Mexico.—
(Vol. ii. p. 246, Notes.)
If the Reverend Commentator hail not been
too deeply intent upon illustrating a favourite al-
lusion. to reelerd the ascertaining of an historical
fact, it must hare ocrurred to him, either that 1)r.
Campbell had fixed the date of the introduction of
the putatoe bit° this country too late, or that the
imitator which the Doctor was speaking of was not
the same 'plant with that of Shakespeare lad
the Writers quoted in the Note we are alluding
to ; for Dr. Campbell fixes its introduction into
Ireland. whence it was some time afterwards
brought into this country, so late ao the year 1610 ;
but the play of Troika and Cressida was written ,
' and Printed before that year ; and several of the
other 'books mentioned in the note. were of still
earlier date, such as the translation of the Me.
nerclemi of Platetas„ in 1595 ; Creene's disputation
iietw.-eti a bee Conyeatcher and a shoe Canyeateher,
in 1:07. &is In truth, the Imitator to which
these old endows ascribed provocative qualities,
and the modern potatoe, had nothing of identity in
them but the name ; they were two quite distinct
sod different plants. The former was a kind of
runrerns, or bimel-weed, and was the Spanish
battPta, of which the English name put.itoe is eve.
demly A corniptinii.—This plant was well known,
aid in common use in Gerard's time, who tells us,
that it grew iii India, liarlsery, Saint', and other
hot reginflit, and was to the iithabitants of those
comitnea, as will as of Italy, an ordinary food : but
that be could not succeed in getting it to dower, so
that he was oinahleto awe s cleirri ption of the blossom.
The modern potatoe: is a solanum,the solaarms Sawa.
swat of Loosens, and is a native of Peui. flue In-
dians called it epeotatik, or papptis, which latter word
sigoifies " toe roots," and was the common name
of three esculent idiots. It had the name of Pota-
toe given it in this etiolate from its supposed remem-
planer. in form *nil is-tea to the Spaiii*lt &lOWA',
howl was alien ier Mahler, from it by the addition of the
American or Virginia Potatoe. Limossas informs
its, that ibis plant wets iuttoluee4 into Sweden