The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1878-01-26

afterward the body was opened. when the
stomach was found shrunk to half its ma !.
tural size, so that it would appear that the
poisonous principle resides in tie yolatil.
substance, which may be dissipated bv
neat as indeed is satisfactorily proved by
the mode of preparing the root for food.
The root from which tapioca ia procured
Is of rapid growth and comes to perfection
IN SIX months, and somewhat resembles n
huge parsnip 1t is then taken up and
washed ,andthe rind, which is of a dark color
peeled off; then grated or ground into 4
pulp, and the pulp submitted to pressure.
by which the juice is expressed and pre-
served. The meal or pulp that remains in
the press being dried is called conauue.
and is made into bread or cake, which Is
called cassava bread. The expressed iuiee
after being allowed to stand, deposits n
white powder, which, after being we'll
washed and dried, constitutes what is called
tapioca flour or Brazilian arrowroot. and
by the French, moussache. All the pro-
ducts of the roots are nutritious and easy
of digestion. The natives frequently fer
ment the expressed juice with molasses.
and form an intoxicating beverage called
onycan, that supplies the place of wine and
beer of the temperate climate.
When the climate is favorable, the plant
: -of hardy nature and easily cultivated.
It requires a dry situation, and the land to
be of good quality, and will not we'll Weld
on the same ground two successive crops.
The mode Of planting is from cuttings.
and little moisture is needed by the plant
at its first growth. There are nine differ
ent species enumerated by botanists, but
two only of which are cultivated for hu-
man food. They are known as the bitter
cassava and the sweet cassava. The roots
are very similar, the first by far the most
poisonous, the only perceptible difference
between the two roots being a tough lig-
neous cord running through the centre of
the sweet cassava root, which the bitter
variety is wholly without
Bread is maid of both kinds, which is
palatable and wholesome. In Guiana the
mode of preparation is as follows: The
root is rasped in large tins or wooden gra-
ters fixed on benches, behind which the
women employed in making it stand in
rows. A sufficient quantity being rasped
for one time (for the surplus would fer
ment and spoil, } it is put in long circular
baskets Of plated rushes, about ten feet
long and nine inches in diameter, called
maugueras. These are hung MP with
weights attached to the lower end, which
draw the plated work tight together, thus
squeezing out the juice. When all the fluid
is extracted the maugueras are emptied of
their contents on raw hides laid out in the
sun, where the coarse -four soon dries. It
is then baked on smooth plates, made of
dry clay, with slow FIRE beneath. This
is the most difficult part of the process.
The coarse -four is laid perfectly dry on
the hot plates, when the women, with 4
dexterity only to be acquired by practice,
spread it out in a round and very thin lay
er, nearly the size of the plate it is laid on.
This they DO merely with piece of GALA
bash, which they keep in constant motion,
pressing gently every part of the surface
until the heat has united tae meal into a
cake, without in the least altering the color
or scorching it. Their method of turning
a cassava cake Of that size is like sleight
Of hand, for they effect it with two pieces
Of split cane without breaking it, though
scarcely as thick as dollar, and, as vet,
only half eemented together, and Of a sub
stance always brittle, especially when
warmed
This cake is very nourishing and will
melt to jelly in liquid This cake after
becoming cold, is broken up and is the
tapiOca of commerce, but it is dangerous
if eaten in any large quantity when dry,
as it swells on being moistened, to many
times its original bulk It will keep good
for any length of time if kept in a dry
place. The Eastern tapioca is generally
packed in bags of about one hundred lbs.
each, but that of South America, and COM
mercially known as Rio tapioca, is gener-
ally packed in barrels of about two hundred
pounds weight, and is considered far su-
perior in quality; consequently it commands
a much higher price. The Indians often
times eat the simple root aftcr having
roasted it in hot ashes without any subse-
quent preparation; the leaves are also boiled
and eaten by the Indians. Such is the
productiveness Of the cassava plaEt that it
has been calculated that one acre of it will
yield nourishment to more human beings
than six acres ofwheat.-Anlerican Grocer.