VARIOUS FARM PRODUCTS 583 



quently a distinct shade of rose. The red or black taros are compara- 

 tively rare and until last year were practically unknown in the 

 Western Hemisphere. The colors of the petiole vary from a pale 

 reddish or maroon tinge to an almost black color. Of the latter type, 

 the "kalukandala" of Ceylon may be taken as a type. This strong- 

 growing and highly ornamental variety holds its nearly erect black 

 petioles 4 to 6 feet high. The rhizome is yellowish inside, while its 

 apex and the bases of the petiole are purplish. The culture of the 

 taro occurs from the south-eastern United States (mainly in Florida) 

 through the West Indies across the Pacific islands, Japan, China, the 

 Malay region, Hindustan, Madagascar, and the whole breadth of 

 tropical Africa. The natives of East Africa grow the taro exten- 

 sively and have many named varieties. 



Yautia. The yautia, which is closely related to the taro botan- 

 ically, though it belongs to a different group known as Xanthpso- 

 ma, is a very important starchy food in the West Indies, where it is 

 known by a variety of names, such as taniers or tannias, cocoes, 

 eddoes, taye, etc. The cultivated varieties do not produce seed, 

 though they occasionally put out abortive blossoms. The plants 

 will thrive in almost any moist region free from frost and produce a 

 large crop of roots in return for comparatively little cultivation. In 

 Porto Rico every small farmer has his plat of yautias, and next to 

 sweet potatoes and yams they are the most important native food 

 crop. The flesh of the different varieties ranges in color from white 

 to deep orange red. Both root stalks and the tubers which grow 

 from them are edible, though the tubers are considered the more 

 tender and of better flavor. (F. B. 295). The yautias, or, as some 

 varieties are called in the British West Indies, taniers, are perhaps 

 more important from the commercial point of view than either the 

 taros or the dasheens. These three types of plants occur throughout 

 the world in from 100 to 200 varieties. The general aspect of the 

 plants belonging to this group is that of the so-called caladium, or 

 elephant-ear, which has become popular as an ornamental during 

 the two or three decades. They are succulent, stemless plants, al- 

 though some varieties produce a rhizome, or main rootstock, 2, or 

 even 4, feet in length, the greater portion of which may be above 

 the surface of the ground. The leaves arise from the tip of this 

 rootstock or from its offsets or tubers. The leaf stem ranges from 1 

 to 8 feet in height; it is usually grooved near the middle, forming 

 a sinus which at its lowest extremity is wrapped about the tip of 

 the root stock. Most varieties seldom or never produce flowers, 

 and none of the cultivated forms have been observed by the author 

 to produce seed under any circumstances. In fact, the yautias are 

 considered the oldest cultivated crop in the world and probably the 

 only one, with the exception of the highly cultivated taros which 

 does not ripen seed under favorable conditions. The entire plant of 

 both the taro and the yautia is filled with laticiferous ducts contain- 

 ing a yellowish juice, which upon exposure rapidly thickens and 

 turns brownish, forming a viscid gum. The true sap indelibly stains 

 white cloth a reddish brown. No record of the yautia as a crop in 



