Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-03-19
CASSAyAS
AS PREVENTIVE
famine DANGER
Cultivation of Root as Food for
Man and Stock Advised
BY AgricuIturiSt
BY J. NJ. WEsTGATE,

Director y. S. Experiment Station
Because the Hawaiian islands, iso
lated as they are in the middle of the
Pacific ocean, are to a great extent
dependent on the mainland for a ma
jority of food products, 1t behooyes
the people here to raise a sufficient
amount of fOodstuffs to preserve life
should the islands be cut off from the
mainland and to do away with any
chance of a famine. Among the pos.
sibilities is the cassava with which
the station has experimental consid.
erably and found entirely satisfactory
to the local climate and. soils.
Cassava is cultivated for its large
fleshy roots containing from % to 80
per cent starch, While it has been
grown throughout the territory. as a
food for man and livestock and for
the production of starch (Pai1 for
i many years, its value as food crop.
for all classes. still seems to be un-
known to large portion of the popu.
latioH. The plant is a native of bra
I'll but is now found in cultivation
throughout the tropical and subtrcpi-
cal world. The importance of cassaH IA
as food plant was we'll demonstrated
tat Trayancore, an isolated district of
India, during the famine period of
1907. Only 80 years before, had casa
Iva been introduced to the district,
which is short period for the con-
seryative natives to become accustom-
ed to any new food crop. Travellers
through Trayancore during India s
famine period were very much sur
Iprised to find that while high prices
prevailed for rice and staple grains,
the people of Travancore seemed I'M
usually prosperous and well.fed, and
further that a famine had been un-
known to the present generation. In
other words the populace of Travan-
core were unaffected by the high
prices of staple crops due to floods or
drought, because Of the universal
maintainanee OF small patch of cas-
sava by each household. Cassava is
now known to q large portion of India
as famine fighter, and has become
a permanent and popular diet.
|-heFe are t%o distinct types of cas-.
saya, the red, bitter type, and the
white or sweet type, many varieties
Of both types being cultivated in this
territory The white types are early
maturing, requiring from nine to fiji
teen months to mature while the bit
ter varieties generally require up
wards OF is months to produce full
crop. While normal yields of the,
white varieties average about Is tons
of fresh roots to the acre. yields of %
or 30 tons are often harvested per
acre from the red type. -,
Both varieties are known to contain
appreciable amounts of hydrocyanic or
prussic acid, which, however, can be
removed by heating or subjecting the
sliced roots to the action of air. A
careful study Is being made to determ-i
Inc the methods of preparing the cas-
saya roots of all types for immediate
consumption and preservation, the re-
suits of which will appear in a bulle-l
tin to be published, covering the cul-i
tiyatfon of cassava, its varieties, the
manufacture of starch and tapioca,
and the economic phases of the plant
as source Of food supply.
Cassaya, in order to produce good
crops, requires a rich friable loan,
preferably tinderlaid by hardpan to
prevent thesroots from penetrating too
deeply into the soil, as harvesting is
accomplished by pulling the roots by
hand. The plant is decidedly drought
resistant when once we'll established,
and viii produce better crops on mod
erately dry than on wet soil. In Ha--
wall, any soil known to produce a,
good crop of sweet potatoes, provided
their cultivation has not exhausted its.
productivity, will produce correspond.
ingly good crops of cassava
New plants are propagated by cut.
tings OF the woody portions of the
branches well supplied with buds. The
soil should be well supplied with 2mois-
ture at planting time for in soil that
is too dry roots will fail to start and
many, cuttings will become involved
in dry rot. If planting must be done
during period of insufficient mois-
ture, two canes should be allowed for
each hill instead of one For the
sweet cassaya the hills should be
spaced three feet apart in rows three
feet apart, while the red variety re-
quires the rows or burrows to be from
four to four and half feet apart The
plants attain a height of from six to
ten feet when protected from winds.
When utilized in cottage yards as
windbrakes or hedge rows, they are
fully as ornamental as the much.
songht.for Panax.
An excellent method of preservation
of the food furnished by, cassava roots
lies In the manufacture of cassava
farina. The fresh roots of either the
sweet or bitter cassaya are peeled and
grated finely The poisonous juice is
pressed out by tightly packing the
grated pulp into bags, which are then
spoiled while the German officials |
searched them for secret messages,
Thousands OF parcels have been lost
or have gone astray because Of wrong
~ written addresses. Under the Off