362 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



later that coutiuued cultivation under such conditions will change the nature of 

 the plant in this respect." 



From a study of the form of tubers with reference to quality the author con- 

 cludes that the oval form is preferable, as it is better adapted to harvesting and 

 handling and contains a minimum percentage of surface or cortical layer, which 

 would indicate an increase in the starch content and a decrease in hydrocyanic 

 acid. 



Experiments were made on the possibility of drying and grinding cassava on 

 a small scale, the drying being carried on in trays. The mill used, when com- 

 plete with shaft, box, and pulley, would cost $10 and would grind a ton of tubers 

 in 1..5 hours. It was found that when dried under favorable conditions fine 

 white meal was obtained, but if drying was prolonged the meal was discolored. 



" When used for stock feeding, this discoloration is not objectionable. The 

 greatest shrinkage in weight which occurred was 60 per cent, the meal then 

 containing 8 per cent of moisture, and the average reduction in weight was 50 

 per cent. 



" Meal prepared in this manner and kept for eight months has shown no 

 signs of deterioration, which means that the product can be stored and marketed 

 to much better advantage, and that the cost of transportation, which is one of 

 the principal factors in the profitable production of this crop, has been reduced 

 one-half." 



The possibility of the meal being poisonous if used as cattle feed through the 

 liberation of hydrocyanic acid was studied by treating .540 gm. with water and 

 distilling. Only a trace of hydrocyanic acid was found in the distillate. 



The importance of cassava meal as a human food, and other questions con- 

 cerned with yield and varieties, are considered. 



The value of feeding materials {Oklahoma 8ta. Rpt. 1901. pit. 3//-3.S).— 

 Under tie provisions of the State law, 26 samples of feeding stuffs were 

 analyzed, including condimental stock and poultry foods and cotton-seed and 

 linseed meal. With regard to the patented stock foods, attention is drawn to the 

 fact that with one exception the samples analyzed were very low in both pro- 

 tein and fat and that they have a feeding value equal to about one-third that of 

 cotton-seed or linseed meal. 



"As a medicine or tonic for stock, it is claimed that these foods prevent or cure 

 diseases, fatten run-down stock, aid other foods in the laying on of fat. cause 

 milch cows to give more and richer milk, and reduce the net cost of flesh put on 

 animals during the fattening period. These claims are enormously exaggerated 

 and actual experiment has proven that in most cases these foods are of no value 

 whatever as flesh or milk producers. Foods of this class sell for 10 to 25 cts. 

 per pound and any farmer could duplicate them at a cost of about 1 ct. per 

 pound in most cases. Preparations advertised as foods and medicines are open 

 to suspicion, and when sold as high-class foods and at the same time the claim 

 is made that they are a panacea for all kinds of live-stock ailments they should 

 be condemned. 



" Some of these foods contain a laxative, such as Epsom or Glauber's salts, in 

 amounts equal to 15 to 25 per cent of the entire weight. Most of them contain 

 an irritant or stimulant, such as large quantities of pepper, mustard, bark, or 

 charqoal. Table salt is usually present in large quantities. The greater bulk of 

 these foods consists of corn and wheat brans, ground grain, or greater or less 

 quantities of linseed meal. Oat hulls, pine and poplar bark, lime, Venetian red, 

 and ground o.vster shells are some of the substances found in foods of this class. 

 Nearly all of them contain some such substance as anise, fenugreek, or fennel 

 to give them an odor. A few of them contain, in small quantities, a valuable 

 tonic such as gentian. 



