148 



numerous existing races has been undertaken. Generally, through 

 the East are 2-4 races : but Travancoi^e is said to have as many as 20, 

 and there are 40-50 in Brazil, with a still greater variety in the 

 mountain-valleys of Colombia. In 1886 and 1889 several were 

 introduced into the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, but what became of 

 them is not to be ascertained. 



Many people, by confused thinking, blame the tapioca plant for 

 the lalang wastes, instead of the system of land tenure which 

 led to them. Tapioca has done right well for this country : and 

 it is such a robust plant, that exhaustion of the soil must follow 

 heavy cropping with it. Praise it for its robustness and protect the 

 land for futui-e generations. 



Colorasia antiquorum is quite a widely grown crop : it is a very 

 important crop so near Europe as Madeira. It is also wild in the 

 East : and from the inedible wild plant there runs a fairly complete 

 series of transitions to the edible cultivated plant, of which thei-e 

 are several races, some specially suited for making into puddings, 

 others used as bread is used, and others boiled as a vegetable. The 

 Chinese call it Yu and rely very largely on it in their own country. 

 The natives of India also use it freely. Therefore if produced here, 

 it should hold a place in the market. 



Alocasia indica is used through India like Coldcasin : it is 

 cultivated sparingly in the Malay Peninsula, and apparently, rather 

 more so in Java. Alocasia macrorrJiiza is like a large edition of the 

 last, more truly tropical in the climate which it prefers, and so a 

 little more cultivated in these parts than A. indica. 



The Xanthosomas are American plants, not yet used as crops in 

 the East, though promising as far as their garden cultivation 

 goes. There are three well known — Xanthosoma bagittifolmm, 

 X. atropurpureum, and X. violaceum. The Bureau of Agriculture 

 of the Philippine Islands is experimenting with them. 



Amorphopliallus campanulatus, the elephant's foot yam, furnishes 

 a food largely used in India, but not in the Malay Peninsula. An ' 

 ally, A. Konjac, is cultivated by the Chinese in their own country. 



On Dioscoreas I have been busy experimenting for some time. 

 I know that I have got better races than those which appear in the 

 local markets. I know that they are easy to grow. But as with 

 maize, cooking is the local- obstacle to their general adoption. 



The Jerusalem artichoke can be i-aised easily in the Malay 

 Peninsula, but not with full vigour in the plains. Cantley used a 

 good expression as regards onion cultivation which applies to the 

 artichoke too, namely, " it is more or less worth cultivating." 



Radishes develop too much pungency in the plains just as their 

 relatives the rapes do in India. Carrots have been made to produce 

 fleshy roots in the plains, but never to produce excellent ones. 

 Beetroot has been got to do fairly well. 



