176 CHIEF NUTRITIVE PLANTS OF THE TORRID ZONE 



nutritions soup. The Jatropha Janipha, or Sweet Cassava, 

 though very similar to the Manihot or bitter variety, and wholly 

 innocuous, is far less extensively cultivated. 



A palatable and wholesome bread is made of both kinds ; and 

 although its taste may be thought somewhat harsh by persons 

 accustomed to soft fermented bread made from wh eaten flour, 

 yet those who have been accustomed to its use are so fond of it, 

 that Creole families who have gone to live in Europe frequently 

 have it sent to them from the West Indies. 



The kind of starch so well known under the name of tapioca 

 is prepared from the farina of cassava roots. A large quantity is 

 exported from Brazil to Europe, and may well be considered as a 

 more useful production than all the diamonds of Minas Geraes. 



The yam-roots, which are so frequently mentioned in narra- 

 tives of travel through the tropical regions, are the produce of 

 two climbing plants — the dioscorea sativa and alata — with 

 tender stems of from eighteen to twenty feet in length, and 

 smooth sharp-pointed leaves on long foot-stalks, from the base 

 of which arise spikes of small flowers. The roots of the dioscorea 

 sativa are flat and palmated, about a foot in breadth, white 

 within and externally of a dark brown colour, almost approach- 

 ing to black, those of the D. alata, are still larger, being 

 frequently about three feet long, and weighing about thirty 

 pounds. Both kinds are cultivated like the common potato, 

 which they resemble in taste, though of a closer texture. When 

 dug out of the earth, the roots are placed in the sun to dry, and 

 are then put into sand or casks, where, if guarded from moisture 

 they may be preserved for a long time without being in any 

 way injured in their quality. 



The Dioscorese are natives of South Asia, and are supposed to 

 have been thence transplanted to the West Indies, as they have 

 never been found growing wild in any part of America, while 

 in the island of Ceylon, and on the coast of Malabar, they flour- 

 ish in the woods with spontaneous and luxuriant growth. They 

 are now very extensively cultivated in Africa, Asia, and America, 

 as their large and nutritious roots amply reward the labour oJ 

 the husbandman. 



The Spanish or Sweet Potato — Convolvulus Batatas, commonlj 



