Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-01-21
Native Home Of the Pofato.

In the Times of the Both ultimO |
 published a communication from Hon
 John D. CatOn, which seems to have
 been copied from the Farmers Review
 de speaks of Mir. Forsyth, of St. Louis
 having found wild potatoes in the Rocky
 mountains, north of the line of New l Mexico. MT. FOrsyth's statement may be true, but I doubt it. My reason fOI 1 dOubtIng the statement is that the eli ! mate IS not adapted to preserving the
 potato through the winter season. Mr, | CdtOn also states that "abOu. 1850 he | was shown some potatoes hear Lisbon, | Kendall county, winch he was assured
 ere grown from wild potatoes found ID | the Rocky mountains, west of Tucson, brought Jy volunteers on their return from the Mexican campaign.
 The above statement, ] have no dOubt Is correct (except Mir. Caton's geography Is a httie mixed, Tucson
 being 2j0 miles west of the Rocky
 mOuutansi, as two or three species of
 wild potatoes are known to grow in all
 of the high mountain ranges m Arizona
 and Sonora, Mexico l myself have
 found the wIll potato On the east side
 of the Santa Catarina mountains, twenty
 miles north east of Tucson; on the east
 side of the Santa Rita mountains, four
 miles south of Greaterville, on Tom
 Gardner's ranch, and O0 the west slde of
 the Patagonia mountains, fifteen miles
 southeast of Calabasas, all Tn Pima coun- ty. Arizona Territory. Prof. Lennon, of California, reports having found wild
 potatoes in the Huachuca mountains. l have been iuformed by Mexican citizens that they abound in the CauOnier and San Jose mountains. Mexico. ( rx- Mbited both vines and potatoes which l obtained on Mr. Gardner's ranch in August last tO Mir. Thomas Gardner, Gen. Pierce aad Jefferson Moore, who live 1n Mir. Garuuer's ranch, and at the same tune and place to Mrs. l.. \. Flsh aud Ms. Oscar Buckalew aud my wife, all nf whom are cItizens of lgcsou, and can testify tO the fact of ! my finding wild potatoes on Gardeners | ranch I am thus particular in my state l ments because there seems to be dOubt | in the minds Of some well-informed Jb- | servers Gs to where the native home of | the potato Is. But there need be no further doubt on this question. Ariz0- pa ls the native home of the potato.
 IEe climate uf Arizona seems especi- ally adapted JO the perpetuatiOn of the potato plant. The atmosphere Is very fry a. all times. We have two rainy easons. tle first Tn January and Febru- .ry. and the second iu July and August. Ihe wild potatoes sprout mp soon after he ram begins to fall In July and the lew potatoes set and mature ID August lni September. There ia not enough moisture t1 caUse the bulbs to rot turing the first rainy season in Janua- 7 and February, neither k there any cold 'eatbe- to freeze them They grow
 long the little valley at an elevation Of ! rom SIX to seven thousand feet, con- eguentiy the weather is not sufficiently rarm to start them ID March, and after | hat time, until the second rainy season ! .egius n July. there Is not sufficient 1 Juis:gre iu she ground tO sprout them 1 r cause them Co grow They grow ! ear trees or old logs where tue earth IS pose; the vines are the exact counter art of their civilized cousin, and the 1 ptatoes set iu the same way, and the ops bloom and little bulbs grow on I sm the same as used tO grow on the ! DDS Ot all potato vines some thirty or ! lrty years ago. The sam les l pro- ured varied in size from marble tO ( F inches in length by l inch in iameter. :. A. Maniove in Chicago | lines. V