, 1890-09-10

W ASRS - 49,
four weeks without injury, land there Is q
belief prevalent among those who cuttl+
Vate the plant here that IA cutting kept
until it is thoroughly Sour, produces a inner
growth than a fresh one. Without deny
ing, I do not undertake to endorse this as
sertion and belief.
Although it grows IN any kind of soil, it
is more at home, and yields best, in sandy
loans, loose soils, ana in dry districts. 1t
is not partial to cold, clay, and wet DIS
tricts, and if cultivated under these diSad-
vantageouS conditions, deep and thorough
drainage must be rpS0rted to to OBTAIN luIt
and remunerntiYe crops.
The cultivation is simple and may O6
regarded as the extreme minimum ECU
ed by any plant to produce heavy crops.
Our luxurianca Of growth may be checked
with advantage to the bulbs, by nipplnE
off the buds and uppershoots. The labOur
requiredIs very little and simple, and may
he performed u wonen aud children, AMI
except in the first stages the plant Is al
most independent of cultivation, RAINFALL
aud irrigation.
It's productiveness is larger than that OF
any plant looming under dry cultivation.
Simmonds reports hat an intelligent plan
ter at OampOS states that the square of
220 metres az acres all but a %tractiOnl will
grow 40 1000 plants, which, even in inferior
soil, will produce regularly $4,000 pounds
of faCina, and ut the lowest valuation (6O
reis per pound this would give G52O, or
about E43.5 per acre.
In com parison with the above, let us see
what is attainable here in seMi-cultiVated
and frequently Overworked land. PLAN.
ing il four feet each way, aud putting each
plant to yield 6 pounds of raw roots, Wa
get al, 7SQ pounds az the yield of an acre.
From experiments conducted by myself, |
have found tina 100 pounds OF raw roots
will give of stared Is pounds, of c,tssa-
repe l'3S qtAi.s; and u waste product IL
pounds, therefore the yield per acre miY
b. calculated at, starch $500 pounds, Gas.
sArepe 2S9.69 quarts, aud waste product
2,613 pounds. Taking starch at I'd. per
pound, and CtsSarep at 4s. per quart We
arrive at 447 odd as the retdcn OF one acre
iii cl4SavA alone, without taking into q II.
sideration the waste product-excelI4nt
fool for poultry, pigs. etc,-and the VOLTA
tiliSNd poison. Bat an area of good tGRd,
tpeN cultivated, will throw IL much heA vter
return Of roots, and without detrimeut TO
the CasSava (apparently,) a crop of maize;
peas, and potatoes-BGtatu8 e}ali8-rnay be
taken. Thus, with the minimum Of labotr,
cultivation, aud outlay, ordinary, over
worked.land under A. utiltssiana, is capable
OF making a rttul4l exceeding thai OF any
Ei"AS w AoNN hNAO AN "hOh ~ ~ thNUAA
iutO cons derariuh that it will luxuriate ia
districts aud lands that would prove fatal
to most of our economic plants, il il easy
to realise OF what value to the island would
be the systematic, proper, AND extended
cultivation OF Ike cassava.
The preparation of the various =: o,turts
for market and domestic purposes is sim.
pie and inexpensive. as aro also the ina
chinery ana utensils necess Try. At pre-
sent no machinery in employs here 1t
rough strong tin-grater nailed on to q
board about 80 inches long by 9 or 10 wide,
81 tub or bowl, a tray or two. ! baking IRON
and a lever press. rndely constructed serve
all purposes. What il wanted Is a simple
crushing or grating machine to reduce tlie
roots to p ulp, and a press of not very high
power. These l hope to introduce, at no
distant day, ut Il figure Within reach Of
ordinary cultiyators.
AS a food the dietetic nature of the edi.
BILE products il valuable aud excellent,
and l regret that / am not In Il position to
record here the analyses"