1885: Lee La Trobe Bateman, the pioneer of early potatoes for London

Between April 25 and 27, 1927, the steamship Aragón (Compañía Trasmediterránea) set sail from the port of Palma. It had been built in 1902 in Sunderland (England) and was a mixed passenger and cargo vessel. In the holds, where it could carry more than 2,200 tons of deadweight, there was a small shipment of Royal Kidney potatoes; specifically, 1,536 kg destined for the English market. They had been harvested in the Marjal poblera just a few days before. This was the first commercial trial. It marked the beginning of a century of exports to England, and the potato would become the jewel in the crown.Reviewing the chronicles of the magazines Sa Marjal, El Terruño and Vialfàs, I have found some small references to 1924 as a possible start of the Royal Kidney in sa Pobla, but they have little documentary basis. We do know that, in 1926, a merchant from sa Pobla conducted a trial with this English variety, with an excellent result. That success encouraged him to export, the following year, a first and modest shipment of the tuber.In March 1927, a group of merchants from Mataró arrived in sa Pobla to visit the fields sown with the English variety. The group was led by Francesc Mas Balaguer. For years, the early potato Royal Kidney had been a consolidated crop in Maresme and the main protagonist of exports to England. But behind all stories, there are always people.The merchant and visionary from sa Pobla, Pere Antoni Aguiló Bonnín, from Can Pere Antoni by nickname, was the one who led the initiative to introduce the Royal Kidney and open the English market to the sa Pobla potato. He maintained a close personal and commercial relationship with Francesc Más, the Mataró merchant we just mentioned. Here began the story that until today we thought we knew.In between there was a whole village. A people, our ancestors, working from sunrise to sunset and leaving their sweat on the avid land. Every spring, the potato fever transformed sa Pobla into a frenetic activity: filling and weighing crates and sacks, loading them onto carts and, later, onto tractors, to take them to the Market Square. It was a lively and exhausting job. “Early potatoes, honeyed potatoes,” wrote Alexandre Ballester. Year after year, the sweat of the people of Pobla turned into sterling pounds.But the beginning of this story was much earlier. Until recently, this was the story known by an entire town. However, new papers, documents, and correspondence place the origin of this adventure in the year 1885, at the hands of the young Englishman Lee La Trobe Bateman. Let's see, then, how these archival investigations shed new light on the origins of the early poblera potato.We know that the Bateman family, more specifically John F. La Trobe Bateman, arrived in sa Pobla in the spring of 1862 and began the colossal tasks of drainage, which were completed between 1870 and 1871. During the first years, two engineers led the reins and direct management of the project: first, Wilhelm Green and then, Henry Robert Waring, each with their own human and technical stamp.In November or December of 1884, John's youngest son arrived in sa Pobla. His name was Lee La Trobe Bateman (1859). He was young, newly married to Beatriu, and wanted to conquer the world. He had been in the military for a few years, enjoyed writing plays, but was particularly drawn to horticulture and gardening. Once he arrived at s'Albufera, he found himself with almost 2,000 hectares before him to develop his interests in land and plants. A real challenge that he took on with great energy and passion.The Tramuntana potato variety was the best known and most widespread in the second half of the 19th century in Mallorca. It was a late variety, large and quite irregular in size. The skin was light and the flesh, white. It was very popular because it kept well for months and was intended for local consumption. It yielded well, but did not allow for as early harvests as those introduced by Lee in 1885.Within the Son Serra estate, on the edge of the historic Son Sant Martí possession, in the municipality of Muro, Lee created an experimental and trial farm for the cultivation of beans, beets, and potatoes. It was known as zone W and covered an area of 50 acres, about 114 quartons. By the way, about the farmers Lee wrote to his father: “All the people here are very hardworking and want to see the crops grow”.On August 29, 1885, he ordered three varieties of potato from the seed house Sutton & Sons, which still exists today, which he planted in December of the same year. It should be remembered that farmers usually planted the Tramuntana around March or April. They were Sutton's Early Eclipse, Ashleaf, and Reading Russet, all three considered precursors to the Royal Kidney. Lee's intention was clear: to advance the cultivation and, therefore, the harvest for export to London.Some time ago Xisco Lillo photographed some bundles of letters from Lee La Trobe Bateman deposited at the ARM. He left them in a good place, waiting for an opportunity. A few months ago he started working on them and has shared the news related to potatoes. This material gives us a lot to work with, as it helps us fit together the pieces and links that were missing until now. For example, we know in detail about his orders to the metropolis, such as the one he placed on June 5, 1885, at the well-known London bookstore Hatchards & Co.: The potato and its cultivation, by A. W. Crewes.Likewise, in field W he cultivated the potato for the first time with the English system, which has endured to this day. Basically, it consists of selecting the seed tuber, planting in well-aligned furrows, regular spacing between plants, and earthing up, in addition to good manuring.The results of the trials with the English varieties went quite well. They had no frost or any setbacks. Now we need the most important thing: to know if Lee's early potato reached London or not. There are many pages left to translate and study, but in the coming months we expect to find indications and evidence of early exports, which were already a clear idea and a commercial necessity for a young Englishman who loved the lands of northern Mallorca.Perhaps the first documented export will continue to be that of 1927. But, today, we already know that the dream of reaching the London market had begun, at least, 40 years earlier.