The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-02-27
Cassava.

A southern plant which is quite prolific
to produce and nutritious is recommended
by writer il the Farm and Fruit GrolUer,
who says The plant resembles the castor
bean more than any other plant know.
The leaf looks like that of the castor bean,
but Of course not 30 large Ire seeds form
in smooth pod aud when ripe resemble the
castor bean seed, but are not as large nor as
dark in color. They will ripen In about
eleven months and believe would grow
here, though l have never known them
tested. The stalk will stand 32S of cold and
when the mercury does not fall lower than
this point will live and grow on for years $50
have been credibly informed, like the
castor bean. II the soil is rich and 1t has sufi-
Client distance, it will grow almost to tree
IN one season. | have seen it fully eight
feet high. A man told me he knew a root
of 1t to grow ten feet long in three years.
The heavier parts of the stalk, broken or
cut into sticks about ak or eight inches
long, not split, make the best seed. The
soil should be rich, we'll pulveriZed
and checked SKA feet and one or two
pieces dropped in hill. The rows should
6e run off with a scooter" or small shovel
plow and the seed Just covered level-just
filing the furrow we'll. 1t may be planted
in January or February, or as early as the
last of December. | planted the present
WluIeT JueL hlLeT AlTlSbulhR CulIlNdLe
about as cotton, but always shallow, and
continue until the plant shades the ground
fairly. Let it grow nine or ten months be-
fore using it. II you have occasion to dig
before you wish to use it all, cut off the
stalks three or four inches above the dirt
and catch the stubble and carefully pull it
up, getting out all the roots in the hill.
Bank it very carefully, settling the dirt
well around the roots TO exclude the air, be-
inc naFpFtI M RI hr,faa
The root may be used for number of
purposes and in various ways. 1t should
be grated as we CRATE sweet potatoes for
most cooking purposes. To make bread Of
it mix the grated material with flour or
corn meal, one-third or one-half cassava,
and bake it. Some wash out a portion of
the starch first and then make bread of 1t,
and 1T is often prepared in the same way for
buildings and Gus ards. / prefer all the
starch left in for my use. omake fritter
| so closely resembling the oyster fritter in
| flavor that most persons accustomed to the
| oyster and strangers to cassava could not
| distinguish the difference, CRATE the root
and put "smartn chance of salt into ii
with little soda and make fritters Of it
the pan should be lightly CREASED and the
! fritters fried or baked slowly until done
| Some wash out one-third or one-half the
| starch and then use the crude part for frt.
| ters l will here state, for the benefit
| of skeptics, that | find the cassava
as nearly harmless as anything l ever
used, and the fritter especially so, even
for supper and l have suffered much
from indigestion for many years. 1t also
| makes fine jelly for the sick. One soon
learns to relish it baked like the potato. To
make stew of it put it in with fresh meat
OF any kind and cook it done, but don't let
it boil until sailed. 1t is best when done
through to take it up and air 1t, at least
prefer 1t so. The cook will find In using il
that salt is very necessary. Condiments
may be used to suit the taste Sometimes
it is made into "cassava pone," as the crack
era call 1t. To make this, wash out most OF
starch and bake the remainder; or leave all
the starch in salt. soda, eggs, milk, sugar
or syrup and forty more good things can be
put in if you have them; put the whole
mass into an oven and bake 1t slowly. stir
ring it frequently at first for buildings or
pones. Those who have made the potato
pone" of this country will readily get up q
relishable one OF cassava.
Crate the root and dry the material, rub-
bling up the lunps while it dries, and you
have tapioca. 1t may be dried In fine
weather very handsomely by spreading II
out in the sunshine. or you can use the arti-
fetal dryer, if you have one. In doing this,
some wash out a portion Of the starch, but
by leaving it in you can always have fresh
starch by washing out what you need before
cooking the tapioca. For horses, mules,
cows, hogs, etc., there is no root that will
compare with it. l have fed hogs with it
and on the sweet potato, until it was a
burden for them to stand up ten minutes at
a time, and both lard and bacon made Of it
is firm and sweet. No stock, however, will
be apt to eat it at the first trial, but
when offered them two or three times
when hungry, before food they like
is given, l have never known a failure. 1t
should be pulled up and thrown to hogs. as
they waste it If turned on the patch, for 1t
spoiIs very soon in the open air. Nor other
animals, it should be brushed clean or
washed off well. All the peeing may be
left on the stock, but for folks 1t must be
removed to the solid meat. Slit the bark
through from one end to the other, and
you can start the peeling off both ways
from the splits and take it OFF in one piece.
Iu commencing this plant as stock food, let
me tell the reader just here Of another Of
its virtues. had horse in very bad con-
dition two years ago, after the big
freeze" The cold had damaged my
cassava so badly that 1 discovered it was
rotting rapidly, the stalks dying to the dirt
RIM