The morning news., 1890-06-02
The white" Potato.

Does it belong to Ireland or Americal
w. A. Engarde, writing in the Rural
Home, says: The origin of the white po-
tato has, within a very recent period,
aroused much discussion. Considerable in-
teresting information has been supplied by
various authorities touching upon the sub
ject, but DR.. Robert P. Harris of Phila-
delphia. who has closely and carefully in
vestigated the history of the product, gives
many important and excellent points. He
says: "The United States census reports
call our white potatoes Irish, when we can
show that they are distinctively and en-
tirely of American origin, and exist in no
other country ID wild state, and should be
called American as they were in England
and Ireland when first received from South
America and Virginia, more than 800 years
ago. Ireland became the foster-mother of
the potato, but its mother-earth is still in
the pacific slope, from Washington Terri
tory down to the south of Chill, where
wild tubers of varying forms and charac-
ters may now be dug up for propagation in
large quantities on the mountain sides and
plateaux."
The potato was first discovered under cul-
tivation near the locality of Quito by the
Spanish followers of Pizarro about the year
1885, when it was called the ''papas.n 1t
was conveyed to Spain by Cardan, re-
turning monk, and was there grown as early
as 1850, and in Italy in 1858.
The second discovery was in Virginia in
1885, where the Indians raised it under the
name Of ''opewawk," doubtless from Rocky
Mountain stock, which also furnished them
the original ''niachin'' or Indian corn. The
"opewawk" was taken to England in 1886
by Thomas Hariot, a mathematician, who
belonged to Sir Walter Raleigh's COM
pany of settlers and explorers, sent out at
his expense in 1885. After ten months of
wanderings Mr.. Hariot returned home with
Sir Francis Drake, and presented his tubers
to his patron, Sir Walter Raleigh, who had
them cultivated on his estate near Cork, in
Ireland where they received the name of
Virginian or American potato, the word
potato" being an alteration from "Vat-
tata," a native name for the sweet potato,
which belongs not only to America, but
also to Guinea, in Africa, and Burmah, in
India.
The cultivated potato was brought back
to our country in 1919 by colony of
Scotch-Irish, who founded the town of Lon
dcnderry, New Hampshire. Spanish stock
from its Peruvian ancestry came at a later
period under the name of ''Bilboas,n per-
version of Balboa, the famous Spanish gen
eral of Peruvian fame. These tubers were
known in Pennsylvania as Spanish pota-
toes.
A third introduction, and the most i'm
portant of all, was made in 1852 aud 1858,
by the late Rev. Chauncey E. Goodrich, of
Utica. New York, who died in 1864. Mr..
Goodrich produced about Is, 600 potato seed
lings in sixteen years, and raised from
Chilian stock the "Rough Purple Chili,n
which was the parent of the "Garnet
Chilli" and which in turn was the parent of
the EARLY Rose" the founder of a new
dynasty. Our improved hardy potato stock
has come largely from Chilian stock
through the Goodrich seedlings. After such
a history should we call our potato "Irish"
or American White?"