158 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



High-pressure Gardening 



MORE ABOUT THE DASHEEN UP TO DATE. 



When we reached here in Xovember 1 

 asked Wesley about the last planting near 

 a ditch where we had never been able to 

 raise any thing, and he replied " Nothin' 

 doin,' " even with the dasheens, and said 

 they gTew only about a foot high. Some 

 time later I investigated and found quite a 

 crop, after all, of small tubers, very clean 

 and solid, that had grown in almost pure 

 white sand ; and, sure enough, we got quite 

 a big wheelbarrow load. When I was a boy 

 (60 years ago) I was enthusiastic on "sor- 

 ghum," and there was much difference of 

 opinion in regard to the new syrup. Final- 

 ly it transpired that cane on poor soil pro- 

 duced a much better syrup than that raised 

 on rich mucky soil just right for big crops 

 of corn. I wondered if it would not be so 

 with the dasheen; and, sure enough, these 

 diy tubers, almost as heavy as bullets, were 

 the very nicest for baking. One more " dis- 

 covery," and a very important one: When 

 we first came I went out to where I planted 

 the Government tubers a year ago, and with 

 my knife I cut out the top of one of the 

 largest corms, taking stalk and big leaves, 

 and had it made into dasheen stew as I have 

 described. Now, the big eorm was left in 

 the ground with the cluster of smaller plants 

 all around it. I cut out so much of the 

 corm'that it left a saucer-like cavity that 

 held rain water, and I supposed, of course, 

 this would cause decay. Just about _ two 

 months later, as it seemed to look all right, 

 I took it in for dinner, and Mrs. Root called 

 it the best baked dasheen we had tried. It 

 had kept in the ground right where it grew, 

 perfectly sweet and good, even when muti- 

 lated in the manner I have described. 



This opens up another fact. In this 

 frostless region dasheen may be left in the 

 ground until wanted for the table, the year 

 round; and, in fact, the vei-y hills that I 

 planted over a year ago are now bright and 

 green, and growing finely. Of course they 

 are greatly crowded, and the central corm 

 has mostly dried down; but the other-s are 

 still making a larger crop of small tubers. 

 We are dividing these hills of a dozen or 

 more plants, and making new plantations, 

 without waiting to have the tubers die down. 

 Now, right in here comes something that 

 has been only lightly touched upon. We 

 have found a few of the corms that were 

 dug and stored in November that had com- 

 menced to decay with what seemed to be 

 " dry rot." But this was mostly when the 

 roof of an outbuilding leaked, or when they 

 were left in heaps before being dried out 



thorougldy. When Die smaller tubers have 

 been dried in the sun, and then spread out 

 on inch poultry-netting under shelter, they 

 have so far kept perfectly. I wrote to the 

 Brooksville Station about it, and below is 

 Prof. Gomme's reply. 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BUREAU OP PLANT INDUSTRY 



Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction 

 Plant Introduction Garden 



Dear Mr. Root: — -Your letter of ,Tan. 8 came to 

 hand. We have experienced trouble in the keeping 

 of the corms of the dasheens. The rot you speak of 

 may be due to two things — viz., dry rot, or a fungus 

 known as sclerotum. I am sending your letter to 

 Mr. Young, in Washington, who will, no doubt, write 

 you fully. He has charge of the dasheen project, 

 and would rather, perhaps, give his views of the 

 matter. This year all of our medium and seed tubers 

 have kept well, but the corms as usual have decayed 

 somewhat. I find that they will decay under any 

 conditions, especially if stored damp. The corms 

 especially evaporate while in storage. From our 

 planting on the 314 -acre tract, we obtained about 

 1093 bushels, which was not a bad yield. 



I wish to thank you for sending me Gleanings. 

 It is very interesting and instructive. Myself and 

 wife both enjoy it. 



Brooksville, Pla., Jan. 11. Wm. Gomme. 



Assistant Farm Superintendent. 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BURKAU OF PLANT IXnuSTKY 



Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction 



DASHEEN CORMS MORE ABOUT THEIR KEEPING 



QUALITIES. 



Dear Mr. Root: — Mr. Gomme (of Brooksville, 

 Fla.) has referred to me your letter of June 8 in- 

 quiring with regard to the keeping of dasheen corms. 

 The corms of the dasheen do not keep as well as the 

 tubers. This is, no doubt, partly because the corm is 

 the first growth that takes place, and it would natu- 

 rally be the first to yield to decay of any kind. 

 While temperatures as low as between forty and 

 forty-five degrees may lower the resistance of the 

 corms we have no data to show to what extent this 

 affects their keeping qualities. It is likely that they 

 are affected by some definite disease, such as that 

 known as Rolf's sclerotum or one or two others to 

 which the dasheen is susceptible. 



In our last circular on the dasheen, issued in May, 

 1913, we advised using the dasheen corms as soon 

 as practicable after harvesting, because of their not 

 keeping as well as the tubers. A copy of this circu- 

 lar is supposed to have been sent to you ; but on the 

 chance that you have not received it I am asking 

 that another one be sent. I also enclose herewith 

 a sheet of special directions for baking the corms, 

 and general directions for cooking dasheens. If any 

 other information is desired regarding dasheens I 

 shall be very glad to answer as far as possible. 



R. A. Young, Scientific Assistant. 



Washington, D. C, January 16. 



Permit mc to add to the above, that up to 

 the present time (Jan. 19) the safest way 

 to keep the corms here in Florida is to leave 

 them i-ight in the ground where they grew, 

 until wanted for the table. I have been 

 using them twice a day all winter, so far, 

 and greatly prefer them, as a steady diet, to 

 the best Irish jDotatoes. Here are the direc- 

 tions i-efeired to : 



