452 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



the Dioscorea which had been only two days dug out of the 

 ground, and found them excellent. 



Mon'r. J. Dumas, on the contrary, said that he had tasted some 

 of them and found fade — faded, insipid, unsavory, and looked 

 like mucilage. Some said that perhaps the tubers he had tasted 

 were not matured. 



Mon'r. Eourgeois said that he had, last year received some Di- 

 oscoreas, whicli differed from others on the table, for they were 

 flattened instead of being round. 



The President said that they were probably of different species, 

 as the Dioscorea Alata and Sativa, which will not grow in cold 

 climates, but require hot houses. 



Session of JYovember 22, 1855. 



Mons. Drouart presented cuttings of a Dioscorea, cut into sixty 

 pieces. The cuttings from the upper end of this yam produces 

 the largest tubers. 



Mons. Remout of Versailles, presented many specimens of his 

 first attempt to cultivate the plant. They are the product of 

 little balls — bulbilles, of about twelve to thirty millemetres in 

 circumference. Some grew on some newly cleared ground near 

 Dax in the Department of Des Landes. Others in rich, well ma- 

 nured land near Versailles. These last, very inferior to the 

 former, but perhaps owing to the time of planting (viz) : The 

 first in the last of March, and the last in about May 15th. 



Mons. Remout promised to give directions for the culture of 

 the Dioscorea, by cuttings of the root. 



An essay on panification (bread making) with a starch of the 

 Dioscorea. This bread before us was made of wheat flour, con- 

 taining one-fifth part of the starch, and the bread is excellent. 

 Mons. Remout hopes that thirty-five per cent of this starch may 

 be added with advantage. 



When planted in April, 1855, can produce 65,000 kilogrammes 

 of the tubers per hectare (about 35 tons per acre). 



M. Decaisnes estimates the yield from a hectare about 60,000 

 kilogrammes. 



M. Payn said that if we can attain 40,000 kilogrammes, it will 

 be of immense advantage to agriculture. He desired M. Remout 

 to make trials of dry roots, in order to show how much starch 

 they contain exactly. It is a singular fact that the upper part 

 of the root contains always much more starch than the lower. Ey 

 the analysis made it appears that those grown in Algeria have 

 more starch in them than those grown near Paris. A like difie- 



