, 1890-09-10

From the NJ. Aipi, or sweet kind, an
p~Sculent bulb. starch and tapiOca. The
-four. or meal is made into two kinds OF
bread or cake. of a fat and circular form,
the larger and thicker Of the twO-local
synonym "bammy"-forms the principal
food of the people in those districts where
the root is largely cultivated the smaller
and thinner reese milling somewhat, in form
and appearance, the thin crisp Oatc9ke of
Scotland. The starch is excellent, and for
the laundry unsurpassed. The damp tecu-
la heated on hot iron plates becomes par
TALLY cooked and agglomerated in small
irregular Jumps, and in this form is known
as tapiOca, partially soluble IN wattr, %
nourisling and agreeable food that is
much appreciated.
There are W. ways of treating the roots
when preparing the various products-the
wet and the dry. In the first, or wet pro-
cess, the root, having had it's thin out
side skin removed by scraping, is grated
into water, where it is allowed to settle.
When perfectly clear the water is drawn
off and the fecula which remains is dried,
pulverised, and is then ready for use as
starch. TO convert the starch into tapio-
ca the damp fecula is heated as already
described. The water drawn off from the
fechla Of the bitter species is highly charg-
I'd with a deadly poison, which by etabo-
ration, in a copper or other vessels, is vo-
latilised and escapes, and the remaining
water, by continued concentration, produ-
ces cassarepe, the base of all edible sauces.
During the process of evaporation tue
operator must be careful not to inhale the
poisonous fumes, for deaths have been
caused by their inhalation. In the dry
process the scraped root is grated and the
pulp placed in bags made Of thatch (cut- :
%tacOOs) and subjected to pressure under a
lever.prcss. After a time, a few hours,
depending upon the pressure empIoyPdf
the pressed meal is aerated for an hour or
two, when it is ready to be baked and used
"a food. In this raw state the meal may
be kept for one or two days, after which
it begins to som and developeS q peculiar,
and Ito some) not unpleasant taste. The
expressed Juice, highly poisonous, is gene
rally allowed to escape from the press UNI
collected, and is lost sometimes, first by
dilution and then by evaporation the pro.
duct casarepe is made by those who are
not too lazy TO avail themselves Of its ex-
istence and value so near and easily III
their reach.
With respect to the cultivation of the
casSava here-asIp rule-it is a mOckery to
write one" Chop with the hoe, the partial
burylng of the stick plant ut an angle OF
about As degrees, one tread of the foot,
and the thing is done one wedding, sell
dom two, and then the harvest. For the
benefit of those unacquainted with the
mOduS Operdndi of the caSSava grower |
will detail operations. A patch Of land is.
prepared by@utting down the bush, over
WHICH fire is nm, until all the debris is
destroyed, and the land surface glazed,
caked and hardened. When the IsOil is
somewhat cooled a single chop is made
with a hoe and 4 grains of corn deposited,
the earth covering is returned by one
movement of the foot, and a second treads
it down. One pace distant, another chop,
and 4 graf ms of peas find their last home;
alternately corn and peas, the patch is
planted, next a few hundred understood,
frequently unhealthy sweet potatoes, with
q number of the slips, either or both,
whichever is to hand, are served as were
the peas and corn, and next comes the
turn of the man ihOts. After the first ram
or two the patch is weeded, sometimes,
IA rely, a second wedding takes place, and
the cultivator ava its the harvest, satisfied
that he has done all that is re@nired, and
with the results, be they what they may.
Of what would not this same patch of
land be capable if the soil had been turned
over to a depth of a foot, or thereabouts,
fire kept of it, and p something, if even a
handful here and there. in the shape of q
c...sY:.z. rno ~ 80 n MIGHT 0ctOOicFr