Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1892-08-27
A POISON WEED AS FOOD.
MANDIOCA IS "THE STAFF OF
LIFEs IN BRAZIL.
BY 1t the People Live-HOw II Is Pre-
pared aud h Different Articles
OF Export Made From 1t.

the United States. aud after all that |
may be SAID about coffee, cotton, sugar, |
Indian rubber, gold and diamonds it is
the most important production. foreby it
the people live. Not only is it a very |
valuable article Of export-in the shape
Of tapioea, ariowroot and farina-but it
is q staple article of food. as indespensi-
BILE to the average Brazilian as potatoes
10 the Irishtnan. beef TO the Englishman
or freloles to the Mexican. 1t is found
upon every Brazilian table in some form
or other at every meal, not only in va
rious wholesome and palatable dishes,
but it figures largely in greasy, gariicy
soups and in the everlasting OLA podrida
of csrne SEGA (dried nleat) sliced together
with lard. beans, vans, seeds aud good
ness knows what. In the form OF
course flour a majority OF the popu-
lation use it the year around in
tiet, OF bread. Made into II thick
porrljge it is eaten a. all times. Babies
are weaned on it,. 1t is the sole diet of
invalids in Brazilian hospitals. A mild
intoxicant is distilled IRON 1t which is
the universal drink of the lower classes,
1 tUo IL Ip)ChiS IA iO vi HNiNCSN IoA-
inary messes, whose other ingredients
are an unguessable conuuirum. The
| plant which Is indigenous to Brazil. has
various iocal names, man3ioca being the
most common and jatropLa manlhot its
scientific appellation. 1t is also called
| Yucca, cassava, maniac and Inandlac, and
was eaten Uy the Indians centuries before
| the discovery of this hemisphere 10y
| Europeans. The wonder is that those
untutored savaoes learned its nutritious
uses, because in its natural state il Is
deadly poison, containing so much hydro
cyanlc acid that thirty drops Of the clear
Juice will Kill Il m4Lf IN six minutes. the
art Of rendering II 1hnOxiOus and ut tor
TODD was, mex to the potsto, the most
valuable gift ct the aboriginal South
American to the civilized world, and one
which reflects no small credit on the
donors, because had it not been accom-
panied by Information on It's cttture and
conversion into the -''Staff Of HE tthe
result of their OWE primitive expert
nents) no attention would ever have
been paid to the poison weed.
A cultivated field of this queer shrub
looks like II nursery OF young peach
trees. The plants grow about five feet
high, the stem OF each being isolated,
with a few long pointed leaves at the
top, and Il bud or projecting nucleus Of
a sprout occurring at nearly every inch
Of the other wise naked stem. Dig down
a bit and you will find a cluster of ir-
regular shaped tubers resembling very
large, long parsnips, five OF six to the
plant, weighing all together twenty-five
or thirty pounds. The roots only are
eaten. When a field has been reaped
the stems are chopped into pieces about
They quickly take root, sending forth
shoots from the buds, and in two year:
mature IA new crop.
The Indian mode for preparing the
roots for food, In vogue nobody knows
how many centuries before the frs
Spaniard or Portuguese came to the
country, has never been much improved
upon, though modern machinery ha
somewhat shortened the process, Will
a shell, or a rude rasp mode 10y setting
small, sharp stone into a bit of bark
the roots were scraped into 4 fine pulp
The pulp was then rubbed between stone
until all the poisonous juice was squeezed
out and the remaining moisture evapor
ated by exposure to the fire or to the no
SUD. During the drying it is stirred O
broken into coarse grains, and this j
farina or mandioca -four, the bread O
the rur Il Brazilian. The savages of tn,
interior eat the dry -four, tossing it int
the mouth with the fingers SO deity tina
not a grain is lost. Travellers say tina
, white men have oftea trlcd to perform
4 the same feat, but always powder thei
clothes End faces, to the infinite amuse
: ment Of the Indians. The Portupues
i soon invented mills for preparing man
/ dloca, not unlike Yankee cider presse.
Nltn tnem the modus operaadl Is first
5 wash the roots aud remove the rind, an
> then to hold the pieces IN the hand j
contact with a circular crater revolved b
water power. The puIverizing materi
3 Is placed IN sacks, several of whic
: thus filled are subject to the action of
screw press for the expulsion of th
a liquid, or 1t Is hung up in loosely wovet
> bags of, palm fiber suspended FROM
( pole, with a weight at the lower end {
: the bag, which brings a pressure upo
the pulp. The mass thus soliditied
!, beaten fine IN mortars and then tran,
a ieried to open ovens or concaye plate.
D heated beneath and stirred constant
3 until thoroughly dry. When properl
prepared the farins Is very white an
= beautiful, III coarse PARTICLES which, suit
e jected 10 2 second puiverlZiag process
become the ''arrowroot" of mrne
: The poisonous Juice is carefully preserve
tu'vats, where it deposits a iine sedimer
: after standing a few hours, and ii
!, snow white substance is not only haru
! less, but very ~nutritious-,le ~tapioca>s
- veil known IL the culinary line all owe
the civilized world. one of Brazii's in
: portant articles OF export.
The early Indians believed tina. III
| operation OF preparing it was very VI
/ aearny, ana therefore the work was co,
: lied tn the old xonea OF each trit