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VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



Some yams were first brought into this country 

 from the West Indies in 1733; and they are now oc- 

 casionally imported, more, however, as an article of 

 curiosity than of commerce. 



The yam is a climbing plant, with tender stalks of 

 from eighteen to twenty feet in length; it has smooth, 

 sharp-pointed leaves, on long footstalks, from the base 

 of which arise spikes of small flowers. The root is 

 flat, and palmated about a foot in breadth, white 

 within, and externally of a dark-brown colour, almost 

 approaching to black. 



Different sorts of Yam Roots. 



The WINGED YAM dioscorea alata is another 

 species very generally cultivated; its roots attain to a 

 larger size, being frequently about three feet long, 

 and weighing about thirty pounds. Both these kinds 

 are cultivated like the common potato. They are 

 usually planted in August, and are fit for use in the 

 November and December following. Brown* directs 



* History of Jamaica. 



