62 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



what poisonous principle, like those of our native 

 plants of this family, as the x\rum triphyllum or 

 Dragon Flower, which it is well known is ex- 

 cessively acid. This poisonous principle is so 

 slightly connected with the nutritive ingredients, 

 that it is lost in the drying, or by roasting and 

 baking, and the root is then perfectly harmless. 

 The culture of the Arum takes place in the same 

 climates as those in which the banana, the sugar 

 cane and the cocoa nut is grown. 



In the Sandwich Islands, the Arum is called 

 Taro, and the fields in which it is planted, Taro 

 fields. These are generally quadrangular pieces 

 of ground, about forty-five or fifty feet square. 

 They are dug out, tw^o or three feet deep, and so 

 situated that a running stream can be turned into 

 them. These hollows generally lie like terraces, 

 one above another, so that the water can be car- 

 ried from the higher to the lower ones. These 

 hollows are so deep that the leaves of the plants 

 project but little above their level ; the plants are 

 set rather wider than the potato with us, about 

 the distance of cabbages, as we plant them. 



The tuber of the Taro plants attains the size of 

 a child's head, and when boiled or baked, it has 

 great resemblance to the sweet potato, but more 

 delicate in flavor, and more nutritious. It is com- 

 monly eaten like bread, with or without salt, after 

 being cooked. The tubers are sometimes cut in 

 slices and fried in lard. The most common mode 

 of preparing it is to mash it, after boiling, into a 

 frumerity which, after a little water is added, is al- 

 lowed to ferment. This is the practice of the 

 Sandwich Islanders, who feed themselves, there- 

 fore, as we feed our hogs with a fermented mix- 

 ture. This mash is called Poe, and the inhabi- 

 tants are said to eat incredible quantities of it. 



The Manioc. — This is another of the important 

 roots which is indigenous in the New Continent. 

 The root of the Manioc is one of the principal ar- 

 ticles of food in the tropical parts of America. It 

 grows in the same climate that produces the ba- 

 nana, but seems to require more heat. Two va- 

 rieties of the Manioc plant are cultivated, one of 

 which is called the sweet, the other the bitter 

 manioc. The root of the former is perfectly harm- 

 less, while that of the other variety is a violent 

 poison, until the poisonous juice is entirely 

 pressed out of the substance. 



From the plant of the Manioc is made the Cas- 

 sava bread, of which we have heard so much. It 

 is generally prepared in the shape of discs — 18 

 or 20 inches in diameter, and somewhat thin in 

 substance. One pound of this bread is said to be 

 sufficient for the daily food of a native — but it 

 would probably swell, when moistened, to two or 

 three pounds. The substance in common use 

 among us, called Tapioca, is prepared from the 

 Manioc, and forms a very extensive article of 

 commerce. 



The plant is propagated by shoots, and is slow 

 of growth according to the heat of the climate. In 

 Brazil, it ripens in six or eight months, in Mexi- 

 co, nine months usually elapse before the crop 

 can be gathered ; there are also varieties which 

 require a year or more for their perfection. Too 

 much cannot be said in praise of this excellent 

 root, but it requires so much time for its ma- 

 turity, that a people must be civilized and agri- 

 cultural in their habits, to be able to depend on 

 it as one of their principal reaoui'ces. 



We have thus named and described all the 

 principal tuberous roots which form a predomi- 

 nant article of food with different nations. Such 

 roots as the turnip, the beet, the parsnip and car- 

 rot, though highly important agricultural pro- 

 ducts, form but a small part of the food of any 

 portion of the human race. 



Cambridge, Mass., 1860. 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



The Massachusetts State Board of Agricidture 

 held its annual meeting at its rooms in the State 

 House, on Tuesday last, December 11, I860. 

 Nearly all the members of the Board were pres- 

 ent, and an earnest spirit was manifested by all 

 in the subjects that came under consideration. It 

 being desirable that the several committees should 

 have an opportunity of closing their reports when 

 their whole number was together, the presenta- 

 tion of them was postponed until the following 

 morning. 



Dr. J. Bartlett, from the Middlesex North 

 Society, stated that the law relating to setting 

 fires in woods ought to be so modified as to pro- 

 tect farmers from the gj-eat destruction occa- 

 sioned by them, and moved that a committee be 

 appointed to inquire into the statistics of losses, 

 and instructed to lay the matter before the Legis- 

 lature at its next session, and ask such legal pro- 

 visions as shall either protect or indemnify losers 

 in the matter. The committee was raised, con- 

 sisting of Messrs. Baktlett, of Chelmsford, Da- 

 vis, of Plymouth, LoRiNG, of Salem, Smith, of 

 Middlefield, and Laturop, of South Hadley. 



Mr. Busunell, of Sheffield, called attention to 

 the law requiring competitors for the premiums 

 on grain crops, &c., to weigh and measure all 

 the crop. He thought it a great hardship, and it 

 certainly bore heavily upon the societies in Berk- 

 shire county. He inquired whether the law was 

 drawn with the sanction of the Board ? Mr. Da- 

 vis, of Plymouth, explained the circumstances 

 under which the law was passed, and its impor- 

 tance in securing reliable results. 



Mr. Grennell, of Greenfield, thought the law 

 a good one, and that it ought not to be repealed. 

 Dr. LoRiNG, of Salem, expressed an opposite opin- 

 ion and said that the law could not be complied 

 with, without subjecting the competitor to unnec- 

 essary labor and inconvenience. The subject was 

 finally referred to Messrs. Loring, Bushnell 

 and Davis, to consider it and report at a future 

 day. 



On the second day, the Board received and 

 discussed the reports of the delegates to the sev- 

 eral county shows which were held in the Com- 

 monwealth during the last autumn. 



Mr. Sewat,l, of Medfield, from the Committee 

 appointed to co-operate with the Commissioners 



