86 



wooden handle, and the inside edges are beveled from below, so 

 as to make them sharp. This hook is bolted to the handle in 

 such a position that the inner edge of one arm is about an eighth 

 of an inch outside the side of the handle, and usually on the 

 right-hand side as a matter of convenience. The opening of the 

 hook is toward the long end of the handle, and the lifter is used 

 by catching the hook over tiie stub and then lifting and shaking 

 the roots until they are free from the soil. The short end of the 

 lifter, which rests on the ground, is sometimes finished off by 

 bolting to it an old spade blade or some other piece of iron of a 

 sim.iJar shape to give a broader rest, which will prevent the end 

 of the lifter from burying itself too deeply in the soil and which 

 is also very convenient for chopping off weeds or other obstruc- 

 tions and for a little digging, which is sometimes needed. The 

 arms of the hook should be from 1V2 to 2 inches in width, and 

 the handle should have a little additional size where the bolts 

 pass through, as both hook and handle are under a considerable 

 vStrain when lifting heavy roots from a compact soil. The cost 

 for digging will depend on the yield, but will not be far from $1 

 per ton. 2 



A yield of five tons of cassava roots per acre is perhaps above 

 the average, taking into consideration the whole area cropped, 

 but yields of from five to eight or ten tons may be counted on in good 

 land wnth favorable seasons. When the yield is much under five 

 tons there is little profit in growing the crop for starch or glucose, 

 but the roots are good feed, especially for cattle. It would seem 

 that the cultivation of cassava for starch or glucose manufacture 

 might well be carried on in connection with the fattening of cattle 

 and hogs for market. 



The area available for the cultivation of cassava in Hawaii is 

 very large. It is a crop which does not require large investment 

 for the purely held operations of plowing, planting, cultivating 

 and harvesting the crop. So far as recorded, cassava has never 

 been grown under irrigation and does not require it ; in fact, on 

 the contrary, it is often stated that irrigation is detrimental. It 

 has also been extensively grow^n without the use of fertilizers, 

 although where large plantings are to be made for the purpose of 

 converting the product into starch, s:lucose or cassava meal, the 

 use of fertilizers and more cultivation w^ill undoubtedly prove 

 profitable. 



If cassava is to be grown for starch production, the common 

 practice of all other countries where this crop is cultivated indi- 

 cate that the roots should be harvested not later than nine or ten 

 months after the seed is placed in the ground. 



In Jamaica^ the average cost of cultivation of cassava is esti- 

 mated at about $20 per acre, excluding rent, taxes, interest and 



2U, S Dept. Ag;riculture, Farmers' Bulletin No. 167. 

 3Bli1. Depf Agric. Jan. 2, 1903. 



