UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



S^ff^-ru 



BULLETIN No. 612 



Contribution from the States Relations Service 

 A. C. TRUE, Director. 



sH^r^Lru 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



November 8, 1917 



THE DIGESTIBILITY OF THE DASHEEN. 



By C. F. Langworthy, Chief, and A. D. Holmes, Specialist in Charge of 

 Digestion Experiments, Office of Home Economics. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

 Introduction 1 



Nature of the diet during the test periods 2 



Subjects . . . . 3 



Relation between maturity and digestibility . 3 



Details of the experiments 4 



Discussion of results 9 



Conclusions 10 



INTRODUCTION. 



The dasheen, with other varieties of the taro (Colocasia esculenta), 

 is a staple article of food for millions of people in tropical countries, 

 the large, starchy tubers being ground and used like flour, cooked 

 like potatoes, or prepared in a special way like the Hawaiian poi. 

 Until recently these roots have been little known in this country, 

 but of late the Department of Agriculture has given considerable 

 attention to the selection of varieties suited to the warm localities 

 where white potatoes do not grow well. 1 As a result, it has been 

 found that the dasheen may be profitably grown, and attempts are 

 being made to include it in the dietary as a starchy vegetable. Be- 

 cause its flavor and uses are so similar to those of the white potato, 

 the dasheen will no doubt serve as a crop to supplement the potato 

 supply, especially in regions where it will thrive and the potato can 

 not be successfully grown. 



13112' 



*TJ. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. 1110 (1914), 

 -17— Bull. 612 



