East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-11-19
MODERN HISTORY OF
THE EDIBLE POTATO.

The chronicle of one of the old
Spanish travellers, published in 1853,
according to the Independent, says:
THE people of Peru eat a tubulous
root which they call papes." The
Spaniards took this root to Spain,
where it was grown as "truffle root"
The Italians very quickly adopted 1t
into their gardens, and soon the
Dutch were cultivating it with much
the same zeal that they displayed for
tulips. OF its introduction into Eng
land, all that we are sure of Is that
in 1856 Sir Walter Raleigh was grow
ing potatoes in his Irish garden.
Thomas Hariot, in his account of
Virginia, names potatoes among the
roots that were found growing there,
saying that some of them were as big
as walnut and other considerably
larger, This Virginia potato seems to
have been that which is now known
as the Irish, while that grown in Peru
is more likely to have been a sweet
potato. Another writer. describing
the esculents of Virginia says that
the potato root is thick. fat and tu-
berous, not differing much in shape
from the sweet potato, except that
the roots are not so great or long,
while some of them are round as
ball, and others are oval, in the egg
fashion, "of which the knobble roots
are fastened with an infinite number
of threddle strings.
Early in the seventeenth century
Raleighs plantation of potatoes had
been repeated all over Ireland: but
the farmers of England, moved by
stubborn prejudice. possibly in part
by jealousy decided that they would
have nothing to do with the tuber.
Shakespeare makes Falstaff imagine
that the heavens are raining potatoes
upon him-an Imagination which
could hardly have been delightful un-
less the potatoes retained their orig
inal small size. It was as late as the
time of Charles H., certainly it was
after the Cromwellian episode, before
the potato got any fair hold in Eng
lish soil.
Gilbert White, writing in 177S, says
that potatoes had prevailed in his
district for about 90 years. and that
this had been brought about "only
by means of premiums" but that po-
tatoes We're then much esteemed by
the poorer people. who would scarcely
have ventured to taste them in the
previous reign. Another writer speaks
duct-possibly TO become human
food. although rather flatulent and
acid for the human stomach" He
recommends boiling them with dates.
and thinks such combination would
keep body and soul together. for
those who are too poor to get any
thing better. 1t is probable that the
storage Of this esCulent was very lit
tie understood. and So being left in
the light after digging, they became
continuously less and less suitable for
food.
The story of the Introduction Of the
potato into France during the decade
before the revolution of 1898, has been
often told. The country people were
so convinced of the poisonous nature
Of the tuber that they would not give
II a trial. Its friends We're actually
mobbed for trying to introduce a food
that would poison the people.
The story goes in two ways. one Of
these tells us that King Louis XIV.
wore potato blossoms in his button-
hole, and had potatoes on his royal
table until they became popular with
the aristocratic classes. Another
story recounts how celebrated ply
sician and philanthropist planted a
field of potatoes about which he
placed n guard, with instructions to
allow just as much thieving as posi-
BILE. The poorer people, believing
vegetable that deserved such watch
full care must be of great value, stole
nearly the whole of them. In this way
their preiudces were overcome, and
valuable esculent added to their
dietary.