208 Select Plants for Industrial Culture 



Mangifera Indica, Linne". 



The Mango. South-Asia. An evergreen very shady tree, reach- 

 ing 70 feet in height. Possibly it could be made to bear its delicious 

 fruit in warm and humid forest-regions of sub-tropic zones. In the 

 Himalayas its culture for fruit ascends to 3,500 feet just outside the 

 tropics. 



Manihot Aipi, Pohl.* 



The Sweet Cassava. Tropical South- America, but traced as far 

 south as the Parana-River. The root is reddish and harmless; it can 

 therefore be used as a culinary esculent, without any preparation 

 further than boiling, while its starch is also available for tapioca. It 

 is a somewhat woody plant, several feet high, and too important to be 

 left altogether unnoticed on this occasion, although we have no 

 evidence, that it will be productive in a temperate clime. The Aipi 

 has ligneous tough fibres, stretching along the axis of the tubers, 

 while generally the roots of M. utilissima are free from this central 

 woody substance. 



Manihot Grlazioui, J.Mueller.* ir'-tor 



A native of Ceara, a coast-district of Brazil, in latitude 4, 

 possessing an arid climate for a considerable part of the year. This 

 plant is evidently of a comparatively hardy character, and adapts 

 itself readily to the exigencies of culture (D. Morris). It produces 

 the Ceara-Rubber. Its cultivation is not difficult, and its growth 

 remarkably rapid. It could only be grown in regions free of frost. 

 Mr. Holtze, at Port Darwin, had the first grand success with this 

 plant in Australia, seeds from Kew-G-ardens having been placed by 

 the author at his disposal; his plants attained a height of 12 feet in 

 little more than a year. Perhaps the plant must be regarded as 

 strictly tropical, and as then not admissible within the scope of this 

 work. In Ceylon the plant has grown 20-30 feet in two years; the 

 plants should be placed about 10 feet apart. It is best to wait with 

 tapping till the trees are five years old (Keir Leitch). 



Manihot utilissima, Pohl.* 



The Bitter Cassava or Tapioca-Plant. Eastern Brazil. Closely 

 allied to M. Aipi, producing varieties with roots of poisonous acridity 

 and with roots perfectly harmless. The tubers attain a length of 

 3 feet; they can be converted into bread or cakes, the volatile poison 

 of the milky sap being destroyed through pressing the grated root in 

 first instance, the remaining acridity being expelled by heat. The 

 starch, heated in a moist state, furnishes tapioca. Manihot is abun- 

 dantly cultivated in many places, thus at Caraccas, where the singu- 

 larly uniform temperature throughout the year is only 60 to 70 F. 

 It is a very exhausting crop, and thus stands in need of rich soil and 

 copious manuring. The propagation is effected by cuttings from the 

 ligneous part of the stem. The soil, destined for Cassava, must not 

 be wet. In warm countries the tubers are available in about eight 

 months, though they still continue to grow afterwards. The growth 



