, 1890-09-10
Cassava.
To the Editor of the Cleaner.

July %, II short notice to which my atten-
tIOn has been drawn.
Mr.. Fawcett, or perhaps your compost
tor, is at fault in stating that "Uassava
starch is the deposit Of the eH pressed juice
ct the root" The expressed juice contains
no starch, except, perhaps, in minute
quantities, to be gathered only by analy.
SiS-but a v~irulont poison. Prussie acid
ami if the Cassava grower depended upon
the Juice alone, expressed OR otherwise, be
would go StarchleSS.
In view that enquiries have been made
to our Government, by y citizen OF the
United States of America, for information
npou this truly valuable plant, Mr.. F w
cetts brief remarks would appear mcagre
and inadequate to the Importance OF the
subject 10 say uothing of the fact that
they are somewhat misleading and rs you
have expressed the wish that | should sup
plrment what has already appeared, | do so
with pleasure, as / regard MGnihOts as
standing high up, it not at the top OF the
list of the most valuable of tropical ec0no-
mic plants and one that should play a far
more valuable and important part in the
food economy of this island, and the wOrlu,
than 1t does at present.
The NJ. Aipi may be gathered for food in
from six to twelve months, as Mr.. FawcetE
writes, but no grower, having an eye to
best results, would be- foolish enough to
trouble the II. AtiLiSsiRG under fifteen to
e~ighteel months and its growth is rarely
disturbed III those districts where ii is
largely cultivated, and with which I have
an intimate experience, under the lesser
period. That the plant exhausts tue pro-
ductiY0 powers of the soil is quite truet
nevertheless in various districts, within my
power OF enumeration, crop after crop,
re ierally th rec, are frequently taken be-
i0,o the land is a,lO we'd to rest. This land,
were it cultivated and enriched, would
show maximum and highly iemuneratlYe
Fr&WltS year after year.
Simn,udS, in his valuable treatise on
Yf0pj11l ayr ~icultu3e, gives interesting da.
t1 with reference 10 the plant, as ~Cultlva-
ted for TODD purposes in Brazil, of which
country it would lem 1t Is u native. He
tells his readers that no species Of plants
have been more changed in scientific no.
menc)ature by botaniStS, for they have al
ternately been Classed as Jathr0DkGS, Jdni.
pbaS, Nanjh0tS, Curca8, sc. The name now
generally &C cepted is that given by P0hl,
and the two principal speCies-for the
Others would appear to be Varieties-are
the MdHjk0t atilisSjma, or poisonous, also
ctlled bitter species; and the u. Aipi,
or sweet, which may be eateu-a delicious
eScuient-boiled or roasted as are potatoes,
yams, Be, without any preparation.
4heNdnlhOts are extensively cultivated not
only in the Brazils, but in the Yves. Indies,
Guiana, parts Of Africa, and Venezuela
and it was introduced from the frst named
country into India, the Straits Settlements.
and elsewhere. In In lia-lnd presum 1.
by elsewhere ; it certainly does here-it is
said to flourish best on the seaSorders, and
on islands, rather than the interior. 1t is
a luxuriant grower here, and at Caracas,
but on the coasts of Coromandel the roots
are fbrous apd therefore inferior to those
of Malabar.
The tubers of the III. Utlissinaa, or bitter
species, attain in warm districts, good soil,
and if allowed to mature, d Large size,
sometimes 8 feet in length with a maxi.
nun diameter of 4 to 5 inches, weighing
30 lbs., and upwards. They contain q Va
lathe poison in considerable quantity in
the milky sap or juice. but this may be
got rid of in two, or more ways by graf.
ing n pressing; by saturation, sc.
Whatever poison or acridity that may be
left in the meal or -four, after pressure, is
set free and escapes by the application of
heat in tho process of baking. The III.
NtiSssimG is by far the most prodnctjvB,
and although Simmoids says they do .lot
become soft by boiling like the H. Aipi,
here they do, or at least some OF the vaIie.
ties, either by d saturated or dry heat. If
boiled Or roasted by mistake their poiso.
no,;s nature is at once detected by the ex-
IRENE bitter and acrid taste they impaft,