74 botanical gazette. [March, 



From the above analyses it is seen that the cassava can 

 never take the place of the flour made from cereals as a food 

 material on account of the small portion of nitrogenous mat- 

 ter which it contains. It seems to me, however, that it 

 might very well take the place of potatoes, and its value as 

 a food should not be underestimated. 



Mr. S. W. Carson, of Midland, Fla., has made some very 

 valuable contributions to the literature of the native cassava. 

 From a letter of his to the Florida tanner and Fruit Grower 

 of April ii, 1888, I make the following quotations: 



"As before stated, I regard the rolling pme lands, containing some 

 willow oak, to be the best for cassava, and the southern counties to be the 

 best suited to it. Let the soil be well prepared by plowing and harrow- 

 ing rows checked about four feet apart, one piece laid in each hill. I 

 think they should never be closer together than four feet, and five would 

 be better. Cassava has been known to grow for three years in this coun- 

 try. It will continue to grow until the cold kills it, then by breaking off 

 the steins when they are red, the stubble will sprout up in the spring. 

 as to the seeds of the cassava they will ripen in about one year. If pud- 

 dings, custards, etc., are desired, the roots must be peeled and grated; 

 salt, sugar etc., may be used according to taste. The Spaniards make 

 oread ot it simply by grating the root and adding salt and a little soda. 



on ' u 1S n ? dou . bt in n,y mind but thirt y tons of cassava root per 

 acre can be produced. When I think of the tapioca, glucose and starch 



rifii af S u 11 *> and how abundan tly it can be turned into bacon and lard, 

 milk and butter, mutton and beef, I feel confident that it will pay better 

 than any other plant in the world." 



Mr. J II. Moore, of Keuka, Fla., in a letter to the same 

 paper of November 24, 1887, describes some of the uses of 

 cassava. From his letter I make the following extract: 



fl ftJ'£n,! he i ta11 ? n^ °V? , inch above the ground, just before frost; 

 and thpi ».*' th f aUlk t s 8ho u uld be ,eft to dry in a cool place a few weeks, 

 Sw thP "JSPi"! a trench and covered untiI time for Planting. Some 

 Sen nL Th y k ?! g '??" in a dr >'' c ° o1 P ,a <* *"& February and 



OOndS nntn^K 00 ^ ^^ ^ ^ M U8ed «' the y Wl11 n0t kee P in % 0od 



S tt fcS -I gF • Un ? T re than three or four d »ys- It is perhaps, 

 often hi w r I Can ra .' Se f ° r h0g8 ; U i8 also a fine feed f or poultry. We 

 toes" 8 potatoes, and also slice and fry it like Irish pota- 



M. Sacc has addressed a letter to the National Society ot 

 Agriculture of France concerning cassava, which he calls 

 Mamhot utihssima." He is of the opinion that the poison- 

 ous varieties are different botanically from the innocent. 



v ' h - 1S - G bl T ad ^ tr °P ical re S ions - Th e innocent 

 t • M..S C fT- di ^ SL Bd ; via « and tl ^ e ^at^te there call 

 n 3; ft -^ PK • T he Phim ^ 0WS from one to two metres 



dev 52 l' W Stni : JU aml naked Stalks ' since the v onlv 



develop leaves at then- extremities. The only care given 



