13 



. The less valuable mineral plant foods, that is, those that are of so lit. 

 tie note as to require no conservation or addition, amount to 15.60 

 pounds per acre and the more valuable to 32.72 pounds per acre. 



Quite a number of preparations was made from the starch of the root, 

 and among them may be mentioned : First, tapioca j the first portions 

 of starch washed -out, especially, produce an excellent article of tapioca 

 when treated in the usual way. Second, glucose ; both the fresh root 

 and the extracted root yield full theoretical amounts of glucose, and 

 samples of this article were made by the conversion of the starch both 

 by sulphuric acid and diastase. The samples of glucose made from the 

 starch were exceptionally good, especially when diastase was used, 

 the glucose in this case containing large quantities of maltose. Com- 

 mercially it would be more profitable to make the glucose directly from 

 the fresh root, in which case the considerable percentage of cane sugar 

 contained by it would be saved, Avhereas if glucose be made from the 

 starch the cane sugar is previously washed out. On account of the 

 presence of the bark, however, the glucose made from the whole root 

 is not so fine- in quality as that made from the pure starch. Third, 

 alcohol; the glucose on fermentation aifords the usual quantity of 

 alcohol. Fourth, cane sugar; a beautiful preparation of cane sugar 

 was made from the water used in washing out the starch. The amount 

 of cane sugar, however, is not large enough to warrant its extraction 

 on a commercial scale from the waters used for washing. It is, how- 

 ever, present in sufficient quantity to indi- 

 cate that in making glucose it is better to 

 use the whole root as indicated above. 



The general result of the analytical 

 work is such as to establish the fact that 

 the cassava is a plant of high economic 

 value and worthy of the attention of those 

 interested in the carbohydrate products 

 of the country. 



METHODS OF CULTURE. 



Cassava has been grown for one year 

 on the Department Experiment Station 

 at Kunnyinede (post-office, Narcoossee), 

 Osceola County, Fla. The crop was 

 grown as food for stock. The field in 

 which the crop was grown is high pine 

 sand, with almost no other ingredient. 

 The illustration, of the cassava given here-, 

 with is from a photograph, of a plant 

 taken from afield near the station. The 

 soil on whiclut was grown was apparently pure-sand. It represents the 

 larger plants in the field, but not by any means the largest. The illus- 

 tration (fig. 1) shows in a striking manner the stem and root develop- 



