Vol. \IV. No. 333. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



CASSAVA POISONING. 



-v. ireral years ago the Imp- rial I 'eparl menl ol 

 Agriculture issued a leaflel containing Hints and 

 Information in regard to < lassava Pi isonii 



There have n centlj 1" en si \ ral deaths Prom 

 cassava poisoning in Barbados, and us this probably 



li;,|,|„ ns everj year in one 01 ano I pi rh ips in all 



the other West [ndianColonies.il maj be of general 

 interest to rel i ag dn to the subject in these columns. 



The notes which follow are tab n from the leaflel 

 already mentioned, and they includi the gr< ater part 

 of iis contents. 



CASSA\ V POISONIXi:. 



There are two kinds of cassava known in the West 

 Indies. These are the 'bitter' and 'swei cassava, Both are 

 largeh grown, and in some localities the roots afford an im 

 portaBt article of food. The roots of the bitter cassava arc 

 la lly grated, and the milky juice is washed out, leaving a 

 L rse Hour from which cassava cakes are made. In many 

 parts of the tropics cassava flour, known as farine, is eaten 

 cooked or heated on platesand made ii I i tapioca. The roots 

 of sweet cassava ar< mon commonlj eaten as a vegetable after 

 ,l,,. v uave been boiled or roasted. There are so few differences 

 to De „',. rved between the plants yielding bitter and sweel 

 cassava that children and inexperienced persons maj easily 

 take one for the other. Usually the peasants are fully aware 

 oi the distinction between them. 



It is well known that the fresh roots oi the bitter 

 cassava arc poisonous, [f eaten raw, or in a half cooked con- 

 dition, the) contain prussic acid, and numerous deaths which 

 ;l|1 . due to this cause, are recorded evi <\ year in the W, 

 Indies. 



The object of this leaflet is to bring prominently under 



general notice, not only the poisonous character oi bitter 



aVE) but the fact that some kindsoi thesweet or roasting 



i (especially from old plants) have been found to be 



injurious, it nol fully or properlj i ked. 



H,,\\ TO PKE> EST CASSAA \ POISONING. 



Although the sweet or roasting cassava is not so poison- 

 ous as the letter cassava, it would be safer to let it be widelj 

 known that no kind of cassava should be eaten 

 without being carefully and thoroughly cooked. 

 In preparing cassava for table, it is important to bear in 

 mind that what p >ison is present lies mostly near the outside 

 of the root. It i- desirable, first of all, to scrape off the 



skin and tl iter portion of the root, so as to remove the 



ater part of this poison. In the second place, the roots 

 should be carefully cooked right through, -■ as to 

 drive off anj remaining portion of the poison. Further, it 

 would be advisable not to eat cold cassava, or cassava that 

 has been allowed to stand for some time ifter being cooked. 

 The rules to be followed in preparing cassava of any 

 kind for tabic, would be as follows: 



1 . Scrape the roots, and remove the outside 

 parts. 



2. Cook the cassava well, and be sure it is 

 well coooked throughout. 



3. Eat cassava only after it has been freshly 

 cooked. 



« II \ I Tn DO FOK i U38AVA P0J80NING. 



If a person after eating cassava fi I oi looks ill, medical 

 aid should be obtained. at once without an\ delay. That is 

 to say, the doctor should be called, or the patient 



should be taken to >r, or to th i pital, 



dispensary, or almsh i I ■ 



as soon as possible. \ few minutes ma til the 



difference, and no time should be lost. The d i I 

 inject some medicine under the skin ol the arm which may 

 lie patient's life. Therefore lose no time. 

 While waiting for the doctor to come, or for tin 

 trap to take the patient to the doctor, I here are I 



important things to be d which myoi lo. The 



following things hi Id '"-dune: — 



1. Place the pat ienl in the open air, oi ne ir i he 

 d ■ of i he house. 



2. Make the pat tent vomit by tickling the - 



the throat with a finger, - feather, or a piece oi gra . and, 

 if he can swallow, make him drink water a! intervals 

 each vomit. -i that the stomach is washed out thoroi 



It he di.es not vomit frei ly, get soi ne to mix a tables 



ful of 'ground' mustard in a tumble: glass') of 



warm water— (for a child, a teaspoonful of mustard in half 

 a tumbler of warm water) and make him drink it off. 



3. [f the patient begins to gel inserisibl ■ 'lifeless', 



take the clothes fr the upper part of the body, and 



a large stream oi water out of a jug or bucket ft a I ■ . 



of three or four feet on to the back of the head, the spine, 

 and chest. This should never be left undone. 



4. Afterwards dry the body with a rough towel or any 

 coarse garment, and put onsomedry eh. the- and bla 

 shawls, or anything to keep him warm. Continue t 



the arms and legs briskly to keep up the circulation. If he 



cold, put some bottles tilled with hot water round 

 him. 



5. All this time hold 'smelling salts' to his 

 every now and then. 



6. Ass i as the stomach is empty, and nothing 



water comes up when he vomits, give a strongd 



whisky, or brandy diluted with twice as much wati I 



if it comes back at once, repeat the dose. 



7. If anyone nearby knows how to carr) out n tat is 

 called 'artificial respiration', it should be done it' the i 



gets very bad, and stops breal hing. 



Those in charge of persons suffering from 

 cassava poisoning should not despair. Some 

 of the worst cases have recovered after ener- 

 getic treatment. Remember that the patient's 

 life is at stake, and there is no time to consider 

 whether 'wetting him will give him a cold', or 

 any idea of that kind. What is recommended 

 above should be done without fail. 



The Royal Sugar Commission annou 

 ,i- some misapprehension appi trs to have arisen with ri 

 to the action of the Royal Commission in reducing the price 

 of Mauritius crystals, it may be as well to state that the 

 reduction is confined to sugar of that class when - 

 a material of manufacture. The concession has been made for 

 the -peeial reason that with -near so used, the recovery from 

 the consumer of the increase in the cost of -near is 

 a much more complicated and difficult matter than it is when 

 sugar is used for grocer.} purposes. The Mauritius crystals 

 held by the Commission will, for the present, be reserved 

 exclusively for the use ol manufacturers: and there 

 intention of making a change in 'the prices of other cl 

 of sugar at the disposal of the' Commission, unless or until 

 some material change occurs in the condition now ruling. 



