232 TRINIDAD. 



below in the hole, or trench. Some people are content with 

 raising mounds about two feet high, in which they lay the 

 plants ; they are commonly set at four feet apart with a prop 

 stuck in the central interval of every four plants, to serve as a 

 support to the vine. Yams are generally laid in when they ask 

 to be planted, to use a local expression — that is, when they send 

 forth shoots, which they infallibly do, however dry may be the 

 place where they have been kept. The tubercles may be dug up 

 in December, or after nine months ; they weigh from twelve to 

 twenty-five pounds ; and an acre of land, well prepared and 

 properly attended to, may yield from 7,000 to 9,000 pounds. 

 The outlay may be calculated at from sixty to seventy dollars 

 per acre. Yams commonly sell at three dollars per 100 

 pounds. 



Cush-cush (Dioscorea alata). — The cush-cush is very different 

 from the yam, and is perhaps the most delicate of all known 

 tubercles ; but, with the drawback of not keeping beyond a few 

 days, it cannot be expected that it will ever be cultivated to any 

 great extent. The tubercles weigh from two to four pounds, and 

 a single plant may give from forty to sixty pounds. The cush- 

 cush requires a good light soil, and the same care as the yam ; 

 it grows from tubercles which must be planted immediately after 

 being dug. The crop is from February to May. 



Euphorbiacece. — Manioc or Cassava root (Jatropha manihot). 

 — This is divided into bitter and sweet cassava; the latter of 

 which is an edible root, very farinaceous, and may be used either 

 boiled or roasted. The bitter cassava is poisonous, and must 

 undergo certain processes before it can serve for food ; there are 

 three varieties of the bitter kind. From the roots are prepared 

 flat cakes called cassava bread, and also a coarse meal known as 

 farine, or manioc meal ; both of these are extensively used as a 

 substitute for bread, especially the farine, which keeps a long 

 time when properly stored. From the same part of the plant is 

 also prepared a fine starch, which is in great request among 

 washerwomen. 



To be made into these various preparations the roots are first 

 scraped clean, then washed, and grated ; after this, the pulp is 

 pressed so as to extract nearly all the juice it may contain. 

 When the pulp is to be made into cakes, it is laid on an iron 

 plate over a fire, and baked to the required point ; when to be 



