CHAPTER XVin. 



THE CHINESE YAM. 



{Diosfonca Batatas. ) 



This esculent, having in its manner of groAvth and 

 uses, much in common with the Sweet Potato, may be 

 Avith propriety noticed in this work. It belongs to the 

 same genus, Diosconea, with the tropical yams, which are 

 mucli used as food in warm countries, their large farina- 

 ceous roots serving as a substitute for potatoes. These, 

 DiofiCorcBct ednlis, D. alata, and some others are natives 

 of the East Indies, but having been early taken to the 

 West Indies and other parts of tropical America, they are 

 both cultivated and .naturalizod. Their roots, often 

 weighing thirty to forty pounds, are much used as food 

 in those countries, and are occasionally seen in New 

 York and other seaports, where they are esteemed by 

 those who have lived in the countries where they are in 

 use. The Chinese Yam is different from all other species 

 of Dioscorem with edible roots, in being perfectly hardy 

 in the Northern States, and it is vastly superior to the 

 tropical yams in the edible quality of its root. 



• The Chinese Yam is occasionally cultivated in the 

 kitchen garden and truck patch, and is valued by many 

 on account of its purity of flavor and the absence of any 

 after taste of sweetness or other undesirable quality. The 

 ease with which it can be cultivated and tlie facility with 

 which it may be preserved also commend it. This yam 

 was first sent to France, by a French consul, about the 

 year 1S40, from China, where it is in general cultivation. 

 The plant was soon after sent to this country from tlie 

 Jardin des Plantes at Paris, but it unfortunately fell into 

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