yam. 419 



them have a red skin, and a little purple tint 

 within, varying as our potatoes. 



Triloba, three-lobed. This is called t lie- 

 Indian yam in Jamaica, and is the most deli- 

 cate and the smallest of all the yams, seldom 

 exceeding eight or nine inches in length, and 

 two or three inches in diameter. It is planted 

 from cuttings, and is very productive, each 

 plant producing five or six yams or even 

 more. These are of a purplish colour, and 

 have a pleasant sweetish taste, very agree- 

 able to most palates. They do not keep 

 well. The Guinea yam is also cultivated in 

 Jamaica and other islands. It is thought, 

 says Lunan, that all these species of D'/os- 

 corea have been originally imported into Ja- 

 maica, with the exception of the wild variet j 

 of the Sativa, which is the only one found in 

 the island not in a state of cultivation. 



Hughes describes them in his Historj of 

 Barbadoes, as growing from half a pound to 

 twenty pounds in weight, but says, the most 

 common size is about two or three pounds. 

 They are justly esteemed to be a very heart) 

 nourishing food, either taken as bread or 

 pudding. A kind of flour is made from 

 them in Barbadoes. This author mention- 



