POTATO. The potato is a native of the elevated valleys of the Andes in Peru and Chili, and is found as far north as Mexico. It was taken to Spain after the discovery of America, and cultivated in gardens as a curiosity. The tubers being small and not edible in its wild state, it attracted no attention. In 158G Sir Raleigh introduced it into England, and is credited with bringing it from Virginia ; but of this there is no evidence. Its cultivation in the cool, moist summers of Ireland soon devel oped large tubers, which were found to consist chiefly of starch.
A successful experiment was made in the use of the tuber as food, but this was met and combated by a number of learned men and several works were written and published to prove its poison ous character. It belongs to the great Nightshade family, all of which are poisonous. This indictment was true, but they had not yet known that a poisonous plant may bear a fruit or tuber not only harmless, but very nutritious. This prejudice prevented the use of the tomato till within the last forty years. The truth is, both these vegetables being of the Nightshade family, are poison ous in stem, leaf, and flower, but this property does not extend to the tuber of the one nor the fruit of the other.
While on this subject, it is proper to say that solanine—the poisonous principle in this family, is sometimes developed in the potato, even to a dangerous extent. If the tubers, while growing are uncovered, they will assume a green appearance and bocome poisonous from the presence of solanine. The same effect, in a minor degree, is produced in the sprouting of potatoes. If these are used in cooking they should be sliced and placed in cold water an hour or two before being cooked. Otherwise sprouted potatoes are unwholesome food.
The potato is a tropical plant, but its tuber-producing quality is a Northern modification of the plant, and in this quality it improved by the cool summer of the north, and is successfully cul tivated in the Arctic regions, and with a decided improvement in the quality of the crop and generally in its yield. The crop is some
times injured by the intense heat of July and August, even at the fortieth degree of latitude. The tendency of the tuber to degen erate in warm climates will suggest the precaution of occasionally renewing the crop by planting northern potatoes.
How to tell a good potato as well as can be done without cook ing. Take a sound potato, and, paying no attention to its out ward appearance, divide it into two pieces with your knife, and examine the exposed surfaces. If there is so much water or juice that seemingly a slight pressure would cause it to fall off in drops you may be sure it will be soggy after it is boiled. These are the requisite qualities for a good potato, which must appear when one is cut in two: For color, a yellowish-white ; if it is a deep yellow the potato will not cook well ; there must be a considerable amount of moisture, though not too much ; rub the two pieces to gether and a white froth will appear around the edges and upon the two surfaces ; this signifies the presence of starch, and the more starch, and consequently froth, the better the potato ; while the less there is the poorer it will cook. The strength of the starchy element can be tested by loosing the hold upon one piece of the potato, and if it still clings to the other this in itself is a very good sign. These are the experiments usually made by ex perts, and they are ordinarily willing to buy on the strength of these turning out well, though these tests are by no means infallible.
The first new potatoes generally arrive in this market about the first of April. Is is essential for keeping potatoes that they should be placed as soon as gathered in a cool and dark place. The different varieties are constantly changing. A certain varie ty may be the best obtainable for a time, and gradually, as it become used up, when another variety will be produced with like success and failure. Thus, many varieties that were popular years ago have now become almost extinct. (See sweet potatoes.)