The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1882-10-11
farm aud Garden.
History of the Potato.

Shakespeare mentions potatoes twice -
once in the Merry Wives of Windsor, y
once in "Troilus and Cressida. In the
latter and later play Thersites, in the
former Falstaf, is the speaker OF the
word Of course, it is an anachronism.
but what root did Shakespeare himself al
lude to-? The word potato in 1902 and
1909, the dates of those plays, respec-
lively, designated two different plants
one our potato, solanum, the other a
convolvulus, well-known plant at this
day, but too tender for our climate. 1t
is grown under glass. This latter root,
batatas, was imported from Spain, but
merely as an article of food, and was an
terror in time here to the introduction Of
our now common potato. There is no
evidence, though there is opinion, of the
exact date of the introduction of this
plant-ou~ potato-into England But,
as it is figured in Gerard's Herbal, +"
published in 1897, though under the
mistaken name of batatas, and must have
been previously known in England,
Shakespeare may very well have known
both roots. Now, if we look at the CON
text OF FalstaHs speech, the allusion is
plainly to common error of that time
as to the supposed provocative qualities
of the root. But, as such errors soon be-
came current, the ipputation may have
arisen as to the later in time. or it NAV
have fastened on the earlier and have
extended to both. 1t was certainly so
believed for a time as to our common
potato. The context, then, does not
really help us. Both plants came to
Europe-to Spain-from Spanish Am
erica, about century before 1909. As
the beauty of the plant could not have
been the motive, our potato must have
been introduced into Spain, whence it
spread into the low countries while
under Spain, as an article of food but it
did not for many years become an article
OF food In any of the countries, nor in
England 1t made slow progress, and
there is general silence about it,
We may reasonably suppose that every
grower of it who had heard of its nature
tried 1T once or more as an edible tuber,
since for that purpose it was grown. The
reasonable conclusion is that it did not ar
first please European palates. Ireland
was the first country in Europe in which
1t became generally grown as an article
W iOON' LACIINO II GAJeHQGu TO Lam
cashire, and the Lancastrians made it
known, and brought it into use in other
English counties II is in my own re-
collection that "no cockney can boil a
potato, was common opinion in Ian
cashlre. Sidney Smith gave it his sane
ton when he said the first question to
put to a candidate cook is, Can you
boil a potato?' do not in the least
question that Hawkins introduced the
potato into Ireland l see no impro-
liability in'that tradition. But evidence
we have none, at least none has fallen
under my observation, though [ have
searched for evidence in all such works
as [ have at hand. The early transac-
tons of the Royal Society may possibly
throw some light on the subject. can
find nothing in the diaries of Evelyn or
Of Pepys relating to the potato. Had
Pepys eaten of it tentatively, l think he
would have noted it as he does tea and
nettle porridge.-Londoo Times.