79? 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST, 



[May I, 1884. 



season the roots have time to take bolil before winter; 

 next best time is in the winter — early enough to avoid the 

 watering that usually has to be resorted to where the 

 worli is done in spring. 'When deferred to spring the ground 

 should be well watered before the turf is laid, giving it a 

 good soalring immediately after, and mulching the surface 

 over with an inch of tine soil, which latter in itself is 

 worth two or three waterings, by preventing evaporation 

 and encouraging growth. The best com-se in the way of 

 after-treatment is not to mow oftener through the ensuing 

 summer than needful to prevent an untidy appearance, not 

 to cut the grass too close, and to do the work with the 

 scythe, dispensing for the. first season with the mowing 

 machine. 



Eenovating Old Lawns. — In the matter of old lawns, 

 there are many to be met with that arc not so good as 

 they once were, and that cannot rightly be described as 

 an ornament to the respective gardens in which they should 

 play no inconspicuous part. The soil iu a lawn that has 

 to support the grass that is constantly close cut, in 

 time becomes so poor and exhausted that it cannot keep 

 the crop it is mtended to sustain alive, which in dry sea- 

 sons succumbs, and its place is taken up by weeds and 

 daisies. Tliis kind of exhaustion is well understood and 

 usually pro^ ided against in the case of other things except 

 lawns, which arc often subjected to this impoverishing pro- 

 cess for scores of years without the thought of ever gi\"ing 

 them assistance, whereas if an inch or two of fresh loam, 

 free from the seeds of weeds, with a couple of hundred- 

 weight of fresh hme added to each cartload, were applied 

 occasionally in the shape of a top-dressing, the condition 

 in question would be avoided, ilany old lawns are reduced 

 to such a state by the neglect described that they are 

 beyond recovery except by digging over and subjecting the 

 soil to a thorough cleaning and re-sowing — an operation 

 that need not be costly providing the right course is adopted. 



As to the way in which lawns have been disfigiu-od by 

 making croquet or lawn tennis spaces on them, since these 

 games have come into fashion, all that can be said is that 

 where the ground slopes naturally, so that for the games 

 in question one of these dead level deformities has to be 

 made, as they often are, in a prominent position, the effect 

 is so far liideous as to completely destroy the natural ajj- 

 pearance, which is the greatest charm iu any garden. — 

 Oat-dttiei's^ Chronicle. 



PREPAEATION OF TAPIOCA. 



BY JAMES COLLINS. 



The tapioca plant (il/aH?//oi «///i^u^<!W(«, Pohl), a cuphorbi- 

 acRous plant, is too well known to need a description here. The 

 late Dr. (<eemann informed me that he luid heard from 

 Chinese that the peculiar lumpy Irom in which we receive 

 tapioca was owing to the action of a peculiar kiu<l of wood 

 used in the preparation of the starch. In the case of India- 

 rubber, in a certain part of South America, tlie addition of 

 the juice of Ccdont/ctlon sju'ciosron, brings about the more 

 speedy coalescence of the particles of rubber, and salt water 

 or lime juice is used in the East for the preparation of India- 

 rubber and guttapercha. In India too, the capsules of Pirjue-! 

 ria coaijiilans are used iu the making of clue.so instead of 

 rennet, and thus the product does not interfere with tlie 

 religious observances of certain castes. The common wood 

 sorrel of the comitry, Oxali-f acetose/la, acts also as rennet, 

 and in Jersey the leaves of the ash are used to prepare curdl- 

 ed milk and cheeses. 



In the case of tapioca, however, I told Dr. Seemann that 

 I believed the ngglonieration and alteration was owing to the 

 starch being partially changed into dextrine. Tliis 1 have 

 since proved to be tlie case, ^\'lnlstin the East I endeavom*- 

 ed to clear up the matter. In the case of gambler, 1 only 

 saw part of its preparation in Malacca, where I was on sick 

 leave. It was near a gambler plantation, and I saw two or 

 three Chinese coolies just boiling down in the open air, the 

 freshly gathered plant in a large copper, or"qnallie," over an 

 improvised fireplace. Their stirring apparatus consisted of 

 two or three (iifferent kimls of wood, and a long-handled 

 iron shovel, somewhat of the same shape as that used by 

 bakers. The latter seemed to be most prized. Either from 

 reticence or because the coolies understood but little Malay, I 



could not ascertain whether any particular wood was used 

 or prizeti. In the case of the preparation of sago, although 

 whilst in Singapore I purposely rode and drove several miles 

 out iu to the country on various occasions, I never saw the 

 whole of the process of preparing granulated sago, yet what 

 I did see left me no grounds to beUeve that any particular 

 wood was used, and I was assured by European planters and 

 native opei'ators that various woods were used, but none for 

 any jjarticular quality, and iron stirrers were much preferred. 



As to tapioca, whilst in Malacca, I saw the whole process, 

 from tithe fresh root stock to the finished product in the pro- 

 cess of packing tor market. I ascertained that there were 

 two or three large tapioca plantations some miles upcountry, 

 and a friend kindly offereil to make arrangements for my 

 risitiug them. We risited two or three plantations, but as 

 they were all conducted on the same jjrinciple, it will suffice 

 to describe the largest and .best. It belonged to a wealthy 

 Chinese, and the factory was well and substantially built 

 of stone and brick. The first thing we noticed was a large 

 hoizontal engine with a European engineer in charge. We 

 were soon ushered into the presence of the owner, and re- 

 ceived with that courtly ceremony for which the well educ- 

 ated Celestial is remarkable. Refreshments were quickly 

 served, con.sisting of tea, tiger's milk, i.e., cocoa-nut milk 

 with a dash of brandy, various fruits, cigars, &c., and had to 

 learn, if we did not know before, that an Eastern must not 

 bs hurried. At last we proceeded .to the manufactory. 

 Here above our heatls, and in every direction, were driving 

 bands, steamers of water fiowing iu every direction, glowiu" 

 fires, and a hive of Chinese — a loin cloth, and that of the 

 scantiest dimensions, alone saving them from being quite 

 naked. 



Taking our station at the tar end, we saw droves of Chinese 

 arriving from the fields with baskets slung on poles filled 

 with the fresh tapioca root stocks. These were at once 

 taken by others to large tubs, fed with a constant stream 

 of water, and the root stocks cleansed from ailhering mud, 

 and then passed on to the " paring " table. Here the dark 

 outer coat was peeled off, just as one might peel a turnip, 

 and all discoloured or bad parts renio\ed. Next, the cleaned 

 root stocks were passed on to a machine furnished with knives, 

 and sliced, then passed on to a piUping machine. After 

 being thus treated, the pulp was removed m cane baskets 

 to the strainers. These strainers w^ere large wooden frames, 

 with calico bottoms, and were fed from the pulp baskets. 

 Above these strainers were tanks gii'ing off a powerful stream 

 of water impinging on the pulp, and the strainers had a 

 motion communicated to them by a shaft exactly like that 

 given by hand in sifting. As the starch became washeci out, 

 it was received into inclined troughs, and allowed, whilst iu 

 suspension, to run into settling " vats." Here, after well 

 stirring, the .starch was allowed to settle, and the water 

 drawn off, and fresh being pumped in till the starch became 

 clean and white. In this part of the building, which was 

 on a lower plane than the rest, the smell of hydrocyanic 

 acid was by no means faint. When the starch had under- 

 gone tills washing, and had been strained, whilst still moist, 

 it was removed to the drying department. 



The machinery we have mentioned occupied the central 

 line of the building, and on either side, next the wall, was 

 the drying apparatus. On the one side tapioca llour was 

 prepared, .-nid on the other the granular form of it. The 

 flour was ] repared by spreading the wet starch on a long 

 iron tabb' or slab, heated .slightly by fires placed under- 

 neath, anil constantly stirred and turned over with iron 

 shovels to prevent agglutination, and ensure equal drying. 

 The granulation was performed as follows: — There were a 

 long range of quallies, or small iron shallow pans, slightly 

 tilted forward on ledges of brickwork, and heated with a 

 wood fire. Each operator had a qualie .and fire to himself. 

 Taking up a quantity of damp starch, he stirred it round 

 and round with his iron shovel, and the heat being greater 

 than in the former case, as it became stirred about, became 

 agglutinated together in small masses, and became coated 

 with dextrine. Wo coukl not but admire the dexterity with 

 which it was done; how well the open fires were mauagc<l, 

 so that no more heat than was necessary was communicatod. 

 The " bullet " tapioca we also saw maile ; it is done by press- 

 ing the starch through perforated plates and " cooking " in 

 " quallies." No wood was used in stirring, and when I asked 

 why, I was told that only those who could not afford ii'on 

 uBe<l wood. — Journal of the iiocicty uf Arts, 



