The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1871-02-18
lkrom Our Home Journal. New Orleans. |
The Tanyah.
(Calldtlium Esculentum. }

PA0AeCls ldtnicI duu HOrIlCulEurailSt, AL.
though it has been long known and highly
appreciated by the planters along the
coasts OF South Carolina and Georgia.
have met with few persons in this State
VINO had ever heard of it. My own ex.
perlence IN the use of it extends through
about thirteen years, but it was durinp
| the late var when all of the necessaries
OF life were procured with difficulty, that
lts true character became fully develop-
ed. During that time the ingenuity of
our wives were greatly exercised in de-
vlslng dishes which were rot merely na-
; iatable and nutritious to the healthy and
the robust, but also appetizing and
tempting to the most capricious and fas-
tldlous stomachs. Prominent among
these stood the Tanyah in its protea q
forms of batter cakes, tritters, custards,
pies and puddings, rivaliny the famous
English plum in short, it was subs,i-
tute for AL our former luxurcs, and
formed such an attachment for it that
can never tire IT speaking its praises.
l will now proceed to give brief,le-
scription of the plant and its proper cul-
tivation and use: 1t is q bulbous plant
with leaf stocks springing from the root
and rising to the height Of from three to
eight feet on rich soil, and these stalks
are snrmoutcd by leaves varying from
one to four feet long and from one to
three feet wide. The flower, stock or
scopeis also radical and supports flower
which is spathe from ten inches to il
foot long, encioses spadix from five to
Six Inches long, and taking the stocks,
leaves aud flowers altogether, they form
most beautiful spectacle; SO much so
that no'stranger on first seeing them can
pass without inquiring what they are.
The large bulbs when dug and washed
resemble q cocoanut, but many of them
are larger and weigh from half pound
to four or five pounds. They are frmer
in consstence than the potato, tnrnip or
beet, and keep better than either, as they
may be kept in the ground all wiuter by
throwing furrow with the plow over
on each side 80 as to cover the crown, or
they may be piled in the patch and Lc
covered with depth Of three to six
inches of earth. according to the degree
of latitude. This ia merely to keep them
from freezing, as the rains of winter do
not injure them.
The small buds or outshoots must he
planted aud they in turn form the parent
bulbs which soon mature and throw out
ofshoots, and these form heads or bulbs
which in turn throw off shoots, and thus
o large stool is formed which by the tine
the frost kills the tops, will make peck
or more of roots to the hill. The hills
should be planted two feet apart in the
row and the rows on rich. alluvial eoil,
should he about six feet apart. One
great advantage which they posse ess is
that they grow on low spots that are too
wet for corn or cotton, and they flourish
best in those places, not that they require
such soil, but their endurance of water
and after the water goes down they grow
rapidly, On upland they should be plant
ed down in the middles, after the bed is
formed and covered with four burrows.
After they are up, hoe and plow as you
would any other crop, remembering that
the looser and wider the bed, the greater
will be the yield, and that if you expect
to get crop without work, you will be
disappointed. Properly cultivated they
will yield from three to five hundred
bushels to the acre. They may be plant
ed as far north 40 the sweet potato will
flourish, and may be put in the ground
any time from February to the middle of
May, but they will not come up until
about the first or middle of April, how
ever early they may be planted. 1t has
other uses also besides ornament. By
earthing up the crown and leaf stalk, as
is practiced with celery, the root when
young, and that portion of the stalk
which IL bleached and tender, may be
cooked lire asparagus and form q dish
equal or superior to that faborite vege-
table; in fact ik resembles in taste the
burr artichoke more than the asparagus.
The root itself may be prepared for
the table in a variety of ways. The most
common method is to boil with the rind
on like beet. and when done enough
for fork to penetrate readily, they are
taken out and peeled like beet, and
then slice and season with pepper, salt
and butter. and serve hot. When thus
boifed it should be in timed or enam-
eled vessel, otherwise the gallic acid of
the rind acting on the iron Of the vessel
will blacken the liquor and discolor the
pulp. Another method is to peel and
slice before boiling, and boil with meat
as ron would turnips, and they then form
a palatable aud nutritious diet. Or they
may be sliced and boiled in plain water,
then taken out and mashed and seasoned
aud when baked in pan they form a
dish resembling baked beans without the
skin on them. Ora portion Of the mashed
bulbs may, by the additioHofa q little
flour, be made into fritteus or batter
cakes, and another portion by the addi-
tion Of eggs, milk and sugar, may be
made into custartis or pies; or with o
little flour and eggs made into . baked
paddjDg. Asa fattener of hogs or cows
thay are unsurpassed by any other food,
and when evoked or chopped for them
thev eat them with avidity. @s
With The promise of contributing my
lnitss az knowledge on some of the sub
jeets embraced in your role, and as there
IL nothing better calculated to promote
ID 1fee and cordial Interchange of ideas
aaong planters than q knowledge OF the
real nanae Of correspondents, / subscribe
myself youfs, Go
JOHN ]. .GI OARss Atchafalaya, La.
p. ThA Retstla or asrAl1 roots Of the