Arizona weekly citizen., 1882-10-01
ARIZONA POTATOES.
Native Varieties Of Possible Value to Cuiti- vators--- Botanical Wealth Of the iiua-
 


 Native Varieties or Possible Value [" Sntii- vators--- Botanical Wealth or ihe, iiua- chuea Mountains.
 Prof J. c. Lennon, who has recently spent much time in the huach1ca mountains, writes to the San frGnclsco Bulletin as follows regarding some or his new discoveries:
 FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA,
 September 8, 1882 !
 While botanizing the lofty range or the Huachuca mountains, III southern Arizona. we have made the re-dlscOVery of two kinds of native potatoes
 One of them probably was gwen trial many years ago Tn cultivation Dy Professor Thomas Meehan, of Phila- delphia. The other certainly has never been tried.
 One of the species, named botanlcalIy Solanum Jamesn, grows about len inches high, has narrow, lanceolate leaves, bears large, whitish flowers tol- lowed by profusiOn of Derrles as large as bullets, while 1t forms bluish tieshed tubers. The other, named Solanum Fendleri, IS . much larger plant, has broad, lanceolate leaves, large purple l flowers in umbels, nearly everyone or which is followed by berries as large as cherries, while the tubers are dark col ored and as large as almonds. This species 80 closely resembles the common potato, especially when, as often happens, it is found invading a neglected garden patch, that more than once I have been led to suspect that they were degraded volunteer escapes | from cultivation; but as they are speci- | tically distinct, and as both these species found are sparsely growing even on the stream banks of the highest peaks, wherever an overflow of alluvium favors | their growth, the idea must be aban- ! doned.
 Now, it IS probable that this last spe- cies has been confounded in Mexico with the well known species of potato, | for authors state that Nexlco divides with Peru the honor of being the native home of this useful plant. Humboldt, however, declared that the native coun- try of the potato, like that of wheat and Indian corn, is unknown; but at the very time he made that statement Pa von, one of the authors of Flora Peruyl- ana, is said to have found the plant | growing wild in the vicinity of Lima. About 1886 Sir Walter Raleigh intro duced several plants from America to | his Irish estate, including tobacco and | potato.
 But cultivation, especially as ln this case, when 1t enlarges tuber from the size of Albert to one weighing over three pounds, often is found to render a plant weak in some respects, so that Il may be desirable to return to first con- | ditions and proceed with intelligent care. Again 1t may be that frcm excess of stimulants which the cultivator has fed U his potatoes for all these years a property has been acquired that tits the plant for certain enemies which now attack it-notably, such. as the Colora- do beetle and the blight. As m grape growing it is found that certain strong seeding varieties are able to resist the attacks of the phylloxera-that sweep l ing scourge of the vines in Europe-so ID the matter Of potatoes, a strong, na- tive species may be proof against all zrown enemies of this most valuable food plant. l am carefully watching the development of these plants just now forming thelr tuber, and l mean to preserve n good stock of each-both tu- bers and seeds as well. They ripen Ill | October.
 We shall cease botanizing in these mountains about the last of October and then return with all our collections to Oakland, California. We have had great success in finding new ferns and other desirable plants. In fact this Huachuca range of mountains, that is crossed on the south by the Mexican line, Is so lofty and diversified in rock structure that We have found its flora richer than any thus far explored.