MARCH 1, 1913 



"VThere the frostless season is less than five months, 

 (he tuLers for planting; should Ije started in sand. 

 under glass. Harvesting should be done before frost, 

 and the tubers allowed to dry in the shade for sev- 

 eral davs before storing. 



In storage the tubers must be kept dry, and a 

 free circulation of air allowed among them. They 

 should, therefore, be spread out in rather thin layers. 

 The corms (large central "tubers") are more liable 

 to decay than are the smaller tubers. 



The leaves of the dasheen make an excellent sub- 

 stitute for spinach or other gi-eens. On account of 

 their acridity, however, they should never he lasted 

 raw. Only the blade of the leaf is used. Of this, re- 

 move the thick portion of the midrib, and then boil 

 for not less than 12 to 15 minutes in water to which 

 haking soda at the rate of one teaspoonful to a quart 

 of water has been added. Drain otT the soda water, 

 wash with clear boiling water, and then boil for 45 

 minutes in water seasoned with salt. Other season- 

 ing may be added as desired. Dasheen greens are 

 "also cooked by boiling for about 30 minutes with fat 

 moat. Soda is unnecessary with this method. The 

 petioles, or leaf stems, cooked separately from the 

 leaf blades, make a delicious dish. The same meth- 

 ods of cooking may be used, except that, when soda 

 is used, it is better to pour on cold water for the 

 second boiling, and boil for only 15 minutes. 



THE UASHEEN AS A CROP, AND ITS INTRODUCTICN 

 IXTO THE UNITED STATES. 



The first experiments made by the Department of 

 Agi-iculture in the culture of the dasheen, taro, and 

 related root crops, were at the Porto Kico and Ha- 

 waii Experiment Stations. A considerable number 

 of varieties from tropical America were collected at 

 the former station, and variety tests were conducted. 

 Following this, in 1905, specimens of the entire col- 

 lection were brought to Washington and grown in 

 the Department greenhouses. Additions were made 

 to the collection from all parts of the tropics and the 

 Orient, until there has been asseml led what is dou! t- 

 less the largest collection in the world of these useful 

 plants. 



From 1906 to 1909 small co-operative experiments 

 in growing these root crops were made in nearly all 

 the southern States, but without very definite re- 

 sults until the latter year, when a one-sixtli-acre plot 

 in rich bottom land in Berkeley County, South Caro- 

 lina, produced 50 bushels of tubers. The most i:n- 

 portant feature of that year's work was the demon- 

 stration that, of all the varieties tested, certain 

 dasheens, which were originally obtained from the 

 Island of Trinidad, British West Indies, were among 

 the best in point of yield, and greatly superior to all 

 others in quality. These Trinidad dasheens, planted 

 3 to 4 feet apart, produced an average of 7 pounds 

 to the hill, or at the rate of over 400 bushels per 

 acre. 



The next season was unfavorable, and satisfactory 

 results were not obtained at the South Carolina 

 plantation; but a preliminary experiment in frejshly 

 broken rich " hammock " land at the new Plant In- 

 troduction Garden of the Department at Brooksville, 

 Pla., showed that conditions there were favorable for 

 dasheen culture, and in the spring of 1911 a half- 

 acre of heavy-yielding varieties was planted. The 

 half-acre at Brooksville yielded 225 bushels of tubers. 

 .Vbout one-third of this was of the Trinidad variety. 

 The soil is a black, very rich sandy loam. Two light 

 applicaticms of fertilizer were made, in tlie middle 

 and latter parts of the season. Harvesting was done 

 early in November, the crop having had a season of 

 about seven months. 



It is no longer a question whether the dasluen 

 will find favor in the United States. It has been 

 served repeatedly on the tables of some of the most 

 fastidious, and has I een pronounced a valuable addi- 

 tion to the menu. It was successfullly served at the 



167 



annual banquet of the National Geographic Society 

 in Washington in .Tanuary, 1911, and, after a .spe- 

 ( ial test, was reported upon favorably liy the house 

 lo.naiittee of an influential New York club. 



The Department believes that all southern home 

 gardens having suitable conditions of soil and mois- 

 ture should contain at least a small area of dasheens, 

 and that a regular market for the surplus over what 

 is needed for home consumption can quickly be cre- 

 ated when a steady supply is available. 



The little bag which was my Christmas 

 present contained jnst nineteen tubers; and 

 although these little tubers were very pre- 

 cious, at least to me, I decided that we would 

 have to make a test of one of the smaller 

 ones by having it baked for breakfast. So 

 on Christmas morning we had our first feast 

 of the new potato, or whatever you might 

 call it, served for breakfast. The tuber is 

 remarkably hard and solid. I think they 

 are heavier for the bulk than any potato. 

 When I tell you that the first taste convinc- 

 ed me that it was the most delicious baked 

 potato I ever got hold of in my life, that 

 does not half tell it. Mi's. Root quite agi-eed 

 with me, although she isn't gifted in becom- 

 ing over-enthusiastic on new and compara- 

 tively untried things. The remaining eigh- 

 teen tubers were carefully planted, and at 

 this date, Jan. 17, they have all begaui to 

 sprout, but none of them are, as yet, above 

 ground. Some of my friends who have read 

 our new potato-book will see what I had to 

 say about my i*oasted-ehestnut potato of 

 years ago. Well, this dasheen resembles 

 that roasted-ehestnut potato more than any 

 thing else I have ever gotten hold of. It 

 was so dry and mealy that, when mashed 

 with a fork, the inside rolled out as fine as 

 flour, and looked about as white as flour. 

 I am sure it will prove to be one of the most 

 nourislung and most delicious articles of 

 food that our heavenly Father has ever giv- 

 en to his children. 



I have in years past been enthusiastic 

 about a great many new fruits and vege- 

 tables, as our older readers may recall. 

 Many of them, it is true, have not quite 

 come up to my expectations. Some of them, 

 although they flourish in the locality where 

 they originated, do not seem to do so well 

 when moved to other places. The Gault 

 raspberry, perhaps, is an illustration of one 

 of this type. 



Some of our older readers may remember 

 how enthusiastic I was in regard to the 

 Kumerle lima beans. On getting a 25-ceut 

 package of these beans and testing them 

 for quality I became so enamored with the 

 new bean that I finally offered their weight 

 in gold for a few of the precious seeds. The 

 Livingston Seed Company of Columbus, 

 Ohio, finally agreed to part with $75.00 

 worth of these Kumerle beans for their 



