People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 December 1896 — The Irish Potato Not Irish. [ARTICLE]

The Irish Potato Not Irish.

“The peculiarity of the Irish potato, so called, is in the fact that it is not Irish,” observed one of the potato experts of the agricultural department. “The potato originally grew wild in the fields of Chile, Pern and Mexico. Sir John Hawkins did not take it to Ireland until 1586. Sir Francis Drake took it to England 20 years afterward. It did better, however, in Ireland than anywhere else and got its name, no doubt, beoause of its early and extensive cultivation in Ireland. Botanioally it was originally known as tbe Batata Virginians, but in after years it was properly identified and classified as the Solanum tuberorum. As the winter stook is now being laid in, it may be well for the inexperienced to be able to select good potatoes. “Cut the raw potato in two and rub the halves together. If the moisture on robbing is soft and liquid enough to drop, the potato will be soggy and set when cooked. Rub the halves briskly around on each other. A potato that will be dry and mealy when cooked will give out a good, rich froth, while a poor one will show only a watery froth by the same action. The pieces will stick together if the potato is a good one. Of oourse the whole thing is to test tbe amount of starch in the potato, for the more starch the better the potato. If, however, a person intends to lay in a very large supply, the best plan, of course, is to cook them, and there will be no chance of a mistake. ”—Washington Star.