150 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



M.4Y 7, 1904. 



THE PROSPECTS OF CASSAVA STARCH. 



3Ii-. H. H. Cousins, M.A., F.C.S., writes as follows 

 on this subject in the Bulletin of the Jamaica 

 Depai-tment of Agriculture for March : — 



Tln-nugh the enterprise of Mr. J. W. Middleton in 

 testuig the conuneiviiil [jroduction (if starch at Longville ami 

 his public spirit in [ilacing his results at the disposal of the 

 Board of Agriculture, it is now possible to f<irin some definite 

 opinion as to the possibilities of cas.sava starch as an industry 

 for .Jamaica. 



The experiment at Longville has been of a tentative 

 character, and tiie actual possibilities of the industry, when 

 established on a reasonable conunercial scale and with the 

 best machinery and management, are far in excess of those 

 directly indicated by ilr. Middleton's preliminary results. 



.VORICULTURAL YIELD. 



The returns of tubers per acre at Longville, as recorded 

 by Jlr. W. J. Thompson, varied considei-ably. Where the 

 cassava had lieeu jilanted between Ijananas or under shade 

 the yield was not satisfactory. Eight tons of tubers per aci-e 

 were obtained on one iiiece of land, and there is every reason 

 to believe that by thorough tillage and the propagation of 

 the best varieties of cassava a return of 10 tons per acre can 

 reasonably be expected. Mr. Joseph Shore finds that this is 

 a fair return from lands in cas.sava on the northside. 



The cost of production at Longville was 10s. Gd. \)ev ton 

 with an 8-ton crop, allowing £1 per acre for rent. I estimate 

 that the cost of production can be reduced to 8.s'. per ton by 

 reasonable economies and improvements in the cultivation. 



The Florida factories pay 18s. per ton for the tubers in 

 the field, the cost of digging and delivery to the factory 

 being about 6.<. a ton in addition. 



CO.ST OF MANUK.iCTURE. 



At Longville, 6 tons of cassava tubers, jiulped in a small 

 St. Vincent rotary grater, yielded 1 ton of air-dried starch 

 by the West Indian process. The cassava contained about 

 29 per cent. <if starch. The actual cost of production of the 

 starch, including the growing of the cassava, amounted to £S 

 per ton. 



BY-PEODUCTS. 



The bitty or residual pulp, when dried to a content of 

 15 per cent, of moisture, amounted to a return of IJ tons of 

 dry material to each ton of starch. The composition of this 

 product closely corresponded to that of the meal from the 

 whole tubers sun-dried. Cassava bitty is therefore a valuable 

 food-stuff for cattle or pigs. If we deduct 30s. per toiL for 

 the cost of expressing the excess of moisture, drying and 

 bagging the liitty, its net value cannot be less than 30s. per 

 ton to the factory, on a low selling i)rice of £3 per ton. 

 A deduction of £2 per ton on the cost of the cassava starch 

 is therefore apparent. 



The cost of production of a ton of cassava starch with 

 a process that only recovers 60 per cent, of the total starch in 

 the tubers, is therefore only £6 per ton. 



COMMERCIAL PKOSPECTS. 



The starch prepared by ilr. :Middleton at Longville was 

 of variable (piality at the outset until a satisfactory method 

 of working had been arrived at. 



By careful neutralization of the crude starch with soda, 

 using litmus papers as an indicator, it was found possilile 

 entirely to neutralize the organic acids of fermentation that 

 are insepiarable from any process of working on cassava 

 tubers. A high-grade starch, free from fibre and dirt, was 

 produced, and this should fetch anything from £15 to £20 

 a ton wholesale. 



A modern plant, which obviated the necessity of peeling 

 the tubers by hand, would save £1 per ton in the cost of 

 labour for making the starch. A return of at least 20 per 

 cent, of starch equal to 2 tons per acre should be obtainable. 



It would ai'pear that in cassava starch we have a product 

 that will give us double the financial return per acre of 

 sugar under ordinary .Tamaica conditions and at a cost of 

 produi-tion so considerably less, that there is large margin for 

 jirofit, without whirli no industry can be generally successful 

 in this island. 



K Kl (IMM E.N I) ATIONS. 



The chief requirements for ensuring the success of the 

 industry are the following : — 



(1) Capital for installing the liest plant for dealing 



with tubers, so as tfi eliminate all unnecessary 

 iiand-labour and ensuring the best product 

 possible. 



(2) Lands of light texture in a district cif moderate 



rainfall, capalile of being cultivated by inqilenients 

 and within easy reach of the factory. 



(3) A good water-supi)ly «ith a system of sand 



filtration and a covered tank for storing pure 

 water. 



These conditions olitain on large areas of alluvial soil 

 on the south side of the island, where bananas languish in an 

 average season for lack of water. A sj-steni of ' cassava 

 farming' by the local peasantry should be started in 

 connexion with each factorj'. 



Experiments to test the most [irofitable varieties and 

 methods of tillage, cultivation and management should be 

 organized by the Dei)artnient of Agriculture. 



ANALYSIS OF CASSAVA PEODUC'TS FROM LONGVILLE. 



OIL OF BEN. 



The Fli<i,i-in<ireidiC(d Jini null of April !• lias the 

 following note on oil of ben: — 



According to 3. Lewkowitsch, the characters usually 

 given for 'ben oil' do not accord with those aflbrded by an 

 authentic specimen of the true oil, furnished by the Director 

 of the Imperial Institute, dcri\ed from Moiiti</a ^/^e/v/'/o- 

 sperma, from .Jamaica. The chief interest of oil of ben lies in 

 its very low iodine value : this explains why the oil is 

 sfiecially valuable for lubricating watch springs and other 

 delicate machinery. 



An interesting account of this oil will be found in 

 the Kfir Balletui (1887, p. 7), where it is mentioned 

 that for many years ettbrts had been made in Jamaica 

 to prepare oil of ben from the seeds of the horse radish 

 tree (MoriiKja 2tferij(j<i>:/>frma), but apparent!}' without 

 success. The original oil of ben is supposed to have 

 been obtained from another species {M. uptera), a native 

 of Nubia and Arabia. 



