388 AN APOCYNACEOUS PLANT, 



myself started out to find a plant. We discovered one about 40O 

 yards from the township, and forthwith set to work to dig out the 

 yams. We dug a hole about four feet in diameter around the 

 plant and wilga. Keeping well down around the circumference 

 we soon had the yams, or most of them, exposed to view- 

 Underneath the ground they grow from the plant in exactly the 

 same manner as the potato, the largest close to the parent root, and 

 the smaller at the end of the root fibres. The top one was 4 inches 

 from the surface, and the deepest that we could find was 21 inches 

 from the surface. We dug up all that we could find, carried 

 them home, and weighed each one separately, 29 yams in all. 

 Following are the weights :— 121 iQi, 9, 7f, 7, 6, 5i (2), 41, 41 

 3|, 2| (2), 2 (5), If, 11 (2), 11 (2), 1 (2), i, i and 1 (2) lbs., 

 making a total of lOljlbs. for the 29. 



" Seeing that we have practically had a drought here for the 

 last four years, T have no doubt that under favourable circum- 

 stances a yield of from 150 to 200 lbs. might be found. 



"As, perhaps, this yield (101| lbs.) may appear incredible to 

 anyone not acquainted with the plant, I have named this gentle- 

 man, Mr. Read, so that any person inclined to doubt ma}' at 

 any time communicate with him. He is known to the Curator 

 of the Australian Museum, as he often sends birds, ikc, to be 

 identified; four other persons also saw them weighed. When I 

 was first shown the plant I did not believe that such large tubers 

 grew underneath, therefore I can understand others doing likewise. 



" Another curious thing about them is that, although one end 

 of the yam may be damaged by bandicoots, bilbies, &c., it does 

 not hurt the whole. The part immediately around the bitten 

 part will decay, but the rest of the yam is not affected. 



" About the second one from the top is the largest in each case, 

 with its sides very much gnarled with age; the others have a 

 fresher and smoother looking skin." 



A chemical analysis of one of the tubers shows this " article of 

 diet " to be somewhat inferior as a food substance, being deficient 

 in nitrogenous substances and carbonaceous priiiei{)les. 



