The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-01
CaSSaVa.

Permit me to call the attention of your
numerous agricultural readers to the mar
Vicious product of cassava which, | feel
quite confident. is destined to become some
day one of the most valuable crops for STOCK
feed III the southern states.
Prof. H. w. Wiley, chemist to the
agricultural department at Washington, D.
G., in giving his analysis of cassava, makes
the following comments:
From the analysis it is seen that the
cassava can never take the place of the
flour made from cereals as food material, OF
account of the small portion of nitrogenou:
matter which it contains. 1t seems to me
however, that it might very well take the
place of potatoes, and its value as a food
should not be overeStimated."
H. r. Burr of Barlow, Fla, in sending
some information to the department, states
among other things, the following: 1.-THE
roots are fed to all kinds of stock, and in a
fresh state, and are greatly relisned. 1t
has been sufficiently tested here to show its
great value as a stock feed. The roots
don't last long after digging, they driving up
or rotting. The yield, under favorable con
diUl0ns, is astonishing. | have recently du :
one plant of one years growth, whicc
weighed fifty pounds, being at the rate Of
more than l 800 bushels to the acre. Eight
hundred to 900 bushels per acre can be
confidently reckoned on.
Auot er gentleman, S. w Carson of
Midland, Fla, writing to the department,
gives his opinion, based on experience, as
follows:
THE rolling pine land, containing some
willow oak, is the best for cassava, aud
the southern counties are best suited toit Let
the soil be well prepared by blowing and
narrowing. Let rows be checked about fee t
apart, five feet will do better, and place one
piece on each hill. There is no doubt in
my mind that thirty tons of cassava
roots per acre can lie produced. When |
think of the tapioca, glucose and starch
there are in it, and how abundantly it can
be turned into bacon and lard, milk and
butter, mutton and beef, l feel confident
that it would pay better than any other
plant in the world. The only care given to
the crop after once planted is the cultiva-
ton to keep it free from weedsn
j. II. Moore of Keuka, Fla, makes the
following remarks in reference to saving
the crops:
Cut the stalks one inch above ground
just before frost. After cutting, the stalks
should be left to dry in a cool place for
few weeks and then placed in a trench and
covered until time for plating. Some save
the stalks by keeping them in a dry cool
place until February and then plant"
purpoSely give the names of the gentle
men who correspondent with the department
of agriculture on the cassava, in order to
enable some of your readers to call upon
them for any more information they may
need.
Now Mr.. Editor, will not these state
ments, emanating from experienced men,
impress themselves upon the mind of sone
enterprising farmers Of Georgia, and
encourage them to take up the matter and
by an intelligent effort make cassava one
OF the leading crops for stock feed in the
south! 1t will not be advisable to neglect
any of our usual crops for such purpose,
in favor of caSsava, but considering the
advantages this latter possesses over all
other stock feed crops, casSava ought TO
be given a fair trail. From the figures
before me given in the agricultural re-
port, the yield of corn per acre is as fol
lows: Texas II bushels, Tennessee 21.5,
Georgia II. Mississippi .7.3. Alabama 1876.
North Carolina 1874, Arkansas 30, Virginia
175, South Carolina 10, Louisiana IS and
Florida 1916.
Compare this yield with that of cassava,
taking even moderate yield, say 800 bushels
only, to the acre, which | consider very
safe, and see what prodigious difference is
in favor of the latter. This cassava needs
no barns for housing, and runs no risk of
being burned or otherwise injured. The
field in which it groes serves for barns
and this product is fed to stock freshly dug
from the ground and as it is needed.
dare say all these facts are known to
many farmers. and from many | have heard
very favorable reports about cassava, but by
don't add it yet to the list of their other
crops. Wake up gentlemen, there are
millions in cassava. Z. MENELAs.
RrookhGUen, Miss, June "a, 1892