THE JUICES OF ROOTS. 147 



sues, the body swells and the animal or person dies in convulsions ; 

 out, if 'uoued with meat and seasoning, it forms a favorite and whole- 

 some soup. Cassava forms the chief bread in Guiano, and parts of 

 the W. Indies; and the juice when pressed out is used for poisoning 

 arrows. The roots of the sweet Cassava are roasted in hot ashes and 

 eaten without grinding, tasting like chestnuts. With butter, &c., 

 they are delicious ; both are propagated by cuttings, and in 8 months 

 the tubers arc eaten. The juice is fermented with molasses and con- 

 verted into an intoxicating drink, much used by the Indians and 

 negroes, and also in use when this continent was discovered. A 

 starch, or tapioca, prepared from the roots is much exported from Bra- 

 zil, and is a very wholesome and nutritive food, in puddings and for 

 children and invalids. A new species was lately discovered in St. 

 Domingo. 



The poisonous juice of the root acts only on the nervous system, in- 

 flames ihe stomach and reduces it one half in size. A little mint 

 water and salt of wormwood, timely administered, prevent all delete- 

 rious consequences. The plant thrives in any situation. It may be 

 cultivated here by cuttings. It is thought to be identical with the 

 Brazilian arrow root. When dried, it is called tapioca by the natives. 

 Two kinds are imported, one in small lumps and the tapioca of the 

 shops ; the other is in powder. The scrapings of the fresh root are 

 successfully applied to ill disposed ulcers. They are used to catch 

 birds with, as they on eating it, lose the power of flying. The milk 

 white juice, which is the narcotic poison, is said to be of the nature of 

 prussic acid. The local application of the root is demulcent and emol- 

 ient ; and, as an article of dietetical importance, is light, nutritious, 

 and very wholesome for the sick and convalescent. 



Flowers monsecious ; calyx 5 parted ; no petals ; stamens 10 ; style 

 1 ; stigmas 3 ; leaves palmate, 5 to 7 parted, smooth ; segments lan- 

 ceolate, entire ; root thick, tuberous, flesh white ; flowers axillary. 



SCORZONERA, or viper's grass. C. 1. O. 1. Composite, sp. 

 19-33. Dh. 1-2 ft. Hispanica. This plant is greatly esteemed in 

 Spain as a certain remedy for the bite of the viper scurzo ; but this 

 idea arises, it is thought, from the tortuous form of the roots; for it 

 is a rule that all plants used as food by man possess very inactive 

 qualities, otherwise they would be unfit for food. S. hispanica is es- 

 teemed as diuretic, stimulant and sudorific. A drink is made of it for 

 viriola ; it is also cultivated as an esculent. The root is like a carrot ; 

 the skin being scraped off, it is boiled or stewed and eaten like carrots 

 or parsnips, and it is cultivated like them. It is a native of Spain. 

 Its root is extremely delicate, and is a valuable addition to the table. 

 It is not so much cultivated as formerly in England, having been ban- 

 ished bv fashion; for," says an English writer, "this tyrant which 

 rules with universal sway, commands the taste as well as the smell, to 



