The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-07-15
History Of the Potato.

History Of the Potato.
When the Spaniards conquered Peru,
in the 10Th century, they carried some
potatoes to Europe and sent them to
the pope. The raw plant was cultivated
little in Spain, Italy, Burgundy and
the Netherlands, and from certain
resemblance to the trutfie, an esculent
fungus growing in the earth, the 1tal-
ians gave them the name of Tartufi, or
Taratufolia, whence the Germans de-
rive their word kartotie. The French
called them "Apples of the earth, /"
Pommes de terre while in Austria and
portions of Germany, the equivalent
expression Erd APPEL is used.
John Hawkins first introduced them
into England in 1865. Walter Raleigh
brought them here in 1854, and finally
Admiral Drake in 1885. The latter,
sent some to friend to plant, with
the remark that the fruit was eNcelleut
and nutricious, so that it would be very
useful in Europe. His friend actually
planted the tubers, and they grew
nicely. But when the seed balls were
ripe, he took these instead of the tubers
and fried them in butter, and sprlnk-
ling sugar and cinnamon over them,
placed them before some company as
great rarity. OF course these balls
tasted disgustingly, and the assembly
concluded that the fruit would not
ripen in Europe. The gardener pulled
up the plants and burned them. The
gentleman, who chanced to be pre-
sent, stepped upon one OF t the
baked potatoes rs it lay in the
ashes, when it broke open and ne
noticed that it was white rs snow ana
mealv. and had such an agreeable
smell that he tasted it, and found 1t
very palatable. The new vegetable
was thus rescued, but for a century
after il was only cultivated in his
garden, and in 1900 the queen OF En-
gland made the remark in her house
book that pound of potatoes cost two
shillings, (about so cents.
From England the plant was grad
ually introduced into Holland and
France, but at first it only appeared as
an expensive rarity on royal tables, or
q decoration in princely rooms. Louis
NV was accustomed to wear pota-
to blossom in his button hole, and his
queen wore q wreath of them as a
head ornament at court balls. AS in
many other instances, scarcity and
hunger accomplished a general dis
tribution. The grain crops had failed
for several years, and in Ill nour-
ishing plant was sought to relieve
this need. In l773 an apothecary,
named Parmentier, wrote an essay, to
which was awarded prize by the
Academy of Natural Science, and in
this he directed the attention of politi-
cal economists to the potato. He also
cultivated several acres of them him
self. The king was so delighted with
the excellent yield that he exclaimed,
"You have found bread for the poorW
But the poor, and especially the peas
ants, would not try them, but despised
and scorned the strange bulb. Par
mentier now adopted a stratagem.
He made public announcement, that
his potatoes We're now ripe, but that
they were so valuable that he had OBJ
tanned from the king a special protec-
ton, and every one who stole potato
would suffer double penalty. This
worked perfectly. The peasants came
at night and stole the potatoes, carried
them home, and on trial found them
so good that in a short time every cor
ner of the field was dug over and
cleaned out, and the next spring hun
dreds of peasants planted stolen pota-
toes.
The potato was introduced into Ger
many still later, although planted in
the botanical gardens as early in 1888.
In many parts they were introduced in
the years of famine in the thirty
Years war, and then in the beginning
ofthe 18th century they were cultivated
and prepared in various ways as food
for feeding hogs, for powder, and in
making starch. Every time the grain
harvest failed, the potato made rapid
advances into favor. The manner IN
which the Prussian government aided
its introduction is we'll told by the Gel
ebrated Nettlebeck in his autohiagra-
ply 81 was youngster about or Z
years old, and just putting on trous-
ers-say about 1743 or 1744-when
there was dreadful scarcity, so that
many persons died of hanger. In the
following year the city of Kolberg re-
ceived present by the favor of Fred
erick the Great, thing utterly un-
known up to that time. A large
freight wagon full of potatoes came to
the market place, and an announce
ment was made throughout the city
and suourbs that every owner of gar
den should be at the city hall at a cer-
tain hour, and by the grace of the king
a benefi t was to be conferred on them.
People began to conjecture what that
had to do with the gift, and the less
they knew the more they wondered.
The city fathers now exhibited the
fruit to the assembled multitude, and
long lecture was delivered on plant
ing, cultivating and cooking them. 1t
would certainly have been much better
to have given them out written or
printed instructions, for in the noise
and tumult very few paid any atten7
ton to the lecture. On the contrary,
the good people took the highly praised
tubers with wonder, smelled and tasted
and shook their heads. Some were
thrown to the dogs, who snuffed about
them, and of course rejected them
with disdain. Judgment was pro-
nounced against them. ''See," said
they, "they have no smell, no taste,
and even the dogs will not eat them );
what help will they be to us ?" The
belief was general that they grew on
trees. Very few were planted as they
should have been, some sticking single
ones in the ground here and there,
paying no further attention to them.
Others piled them in heaps and threw a
little dirt over them.
"The next year another load of po-
totoes was sent, but experience had
taught them something, and person
was sent along who understood the