TAPIOCA 



5700 



TAPIR 



THE TAPEWORM 

 At the left is 

 shown the head, 

 considerably 

 enlarged. The seg- 

 ments are parts of 



pass out of the victim's body. It is the appear- 

 ance of these pieces of worm that proves the 

 existence of the parasite in the intestine. 



The symptoms of a per- 

 son thus afflicted are an 

 unusual appetite, loss of 

 weight, pains in the abdo- 

 men, restlessness and lassi- 

 tude. One troubled in this 

 way should consult a phy- 

 sician and obtain a pre- 

 scription for destroying 

 the parasite. The head, a 

 tiny, blackish object, must 

 be secured, or the worm 

 will grow again. Tape- 

 worms enter the body 

 through the eating of 

 poorly-cooked pork or 

 beef. C.B.B. 



TAPIOCA, tapio'ka, a 

 food starch obtained from 

 the roots of cassava, a 

 plant of the tropics, used the worm ' 

 chiefly in the preparation of a nutritious pud- 

 ding. Cassava, which belongs to the same 

 botanical family as the milkweed, is native to 

 South America, but is cultivated in the West 

 Indies, and in parts of Asia, Africa and the 

 United States, its growth in the last-named 

 country being confined to Florida and a narrow 

 strip of land along the Gulf of Mexico from 

 Florida to Texas. This interesting plant is not 

 raised from the seed, but from the canes or 

 stalks of the previous season, which are culti- 

 vated in much the same manner as sugar cane. 

 The roots sprout from the j oints, extending out 

 on all sides in a huge cluster, in some cases 

 attaining a length of three feet or more. 



There are two general classes of cassava, the 

 sweet and the bitter. It is from the latter that 

 the tapioca of commerce is obtained. The roots 

 are first washed, then cut, ground and reduced 

 to a pulp, after which the mass is strained un- 

 til all the starchy particles are separated from 

 the fibers. The moist, starchy mass is then 

 placed on hot iron plates, and in the process of 

 drying the starch grains form the small, irregu- 

 lar, translucent balls known in the markets as 

 pearl tapioca. 



The pudding made from tapioca is a popular 

 dessert, and is nutritious and easily digested. 

 It is often served with sugar and cream or with 

 a cream sauce. Apple or peach tapioca pud- 

 ding, covered with a frosting made of white of 

 egg and sugar, or served with cream sauce, is 



an attractive dish. Any cook book contains a 

 number of suggestions as to ways of preparing 

 this food for the table. Tapioca is rich in car- 

 bohydrates (starch and sugar), the proportion 

 of these being eighty-eight per cent; water is 

 present to the extent of 11.4 percent, and there 

 are small amounts of protein, fat, ash and fiber. 

 The fuel value is 1,650 calories per pound (see 

 CALORIE). Tapioca is also used in thickening 

 soups. See CASSAVA. 



TAPIR, ta'per, a group of forest animals 

 consisting of five species, four of which are 

 found in the western hemisphere. The chief 

 characteristics of the tapirs are a clumsily- 

 built body, short, stout legs, thick neckband 

 nose prolonged to form a movable trunk, or 

 proboscis. They belong to the odd-toed ani- 

 mals; the front feet have four toes and the 

 back ones, three. Thus they are allied to the 

 horse and the rhinoceros. They are solitary, 

 amiable creatures, that live in the depths of 

 the forests, and frequent regions near water, in 

 which they delight to plunge and bathe. They 

 feed on shoots of trees, fruit and other vege- 

 table food, which they draw into the mouth 

 through the proboscis. 



There are two species in South America, the 

 most common of which inhabits the forest re- 

 gions east of the Andes; the other dwells high 

 up the slopes of these mountains. In Central 

 America there are two species of hoglike tapirs, 

 the smallest of the family. All of the Ameri- 

 can tapirs are of a uniform dark brown color 

 when grown, but the young are marked with 



TAPIRS 



Above, a South American species ; below, Ma- 

 layan, or Asiatic. 



fawn-colored stripes and spots. The Old World 

 species is found in the Malayan region. It is 

 larger than the American tapirs, and very curi- 

 ously marked, as its back, rump and sides are 

 white, and the rest of the body a glossy black, 



