February 27, 1889.] 



Garden and Forest. 



99 



who have seen Mr. Hunnewell's garden must be glad that 

 one exists in this country. To hundreds of visitors it 

 must have given their first and only sight of the "topiary 

 work " about which they had read so much in books of 

 travel and description, and the man whose skill, patience 

 and taste have supplied his country with a unique work of 

 art is a real benefactor. 



The pinetum of which so much was expected thirty 

 years ago, has more than fulfilled all that was hoped of 

 it. It is now by far the most interesting collection of 

 Coniferous trees cultivated in America. The sandy subsoil 

 is admirably suited to the growth of these trees, which have 

 flourished wonderfully under Mr. Hunnewell's generous 

 treatment. The collection is interesting on account of the 

 large number of fine specimens which it contains, and, 

 more especially, for the lessons about trees which it has 

 taught those persons who have been privileged to watch its 

 development. Where trees are concerned, a record of 

 failure is not less valuable than one of success. 



The collection contains many specimens of great beauty 

 and interest. Some of the finest and the largest specimens 

 of the Douglas Fir, raised from seed collected by Dr. Parry 

 in Colorado, may be seen at Wellesley. There are fine 

 specimens of Abies concoior, Picea polita, Abies Nordman- 

 niana, Picea orientalis, Abies brachyphylla, Abies Veilchii, A. 

 Cilicica (a tree too rarely seen in our gardens), Picea Aganen- 

 sis (the P. Alcockiana of most gardens — a tree, by the way, 

 which Mr. Hunnewell considers one of the most promising 

 of all Conifers), Thuja Japonica, Pseudolarix, and, indeed, 

 every Conifer which has been found capable of support- 

 ing the New England climate. 



It is pleasant to know that the members of Mr. Hunne- 

 well's family have built themselves country homes in the 

 vicinity of his own, and that so long as the course of 

 nature permits the witnesses to his life-long love of horti- 

 culture to survive, the hands of his descendants will give 

 them fostering and loving care. 



Sweet Cassava in Florida. 



r\P recent additions to the food plants of this country per- 

 ^^ haps none deserves as much notice as the Sweet Cassava 

 {Manihot Aipi). It seems to have been proved beyond ques- 

 tion that on the southern border of the United States there 

 are considerable areas admirably adapted to growing this 

 rernarkable plant as a staple article of home consumption, 

 while in Florida, at least, its manufacture into starch, tapioca 

 and glucose ought to become a leading industry. A consid- 

 erable crop was grown in that state in 1885, and parties were 

 about to engage in its manufacture, when a phenomenal frost 

 destroyed nearly all the seed in the state. Such a reverse can 

 be easily guarded against, however, and the fear of its recur- 

 rence will not deter any one from planting Cassava according 

 to his ability or inclination. 



In the winter of 1887-88 only a few persons in Florida had 

 any seed for planting. Through the efforts of one of the agri- 

 cultural journals of the state this seed was widely distributed 

 and great interest aroused in the new crop. This winter Cas- 

 sava-seed is advertised extensively, and it is probable that a 

 large quantity will be planted and that the manufacture of it 

 will be undertaken before the end of the year. An analysis of 

 the Florida root made by Professor Wiley, of the Department 

 of Agriculture, shows it to contain seventy-two per cent, of 

 starch, while Bolivian Cassava has only a fraction over fourteen 

 per cent, of starch. Professor Wiley thinks that good Cassava 

 starch can be made in this country, and that the manufacture 

 of glucose from Cassava will prove even more profitable. 



It may here be remarked that the name Cassava is said to 

 belong properly to the product of the Manihot rather than to 

 the plant itself, but in the latter sense it has become too well 

 established in this country to be set aside. In tropical America 

 the plant is known as Manioc or Mandioc. It should be 

 observed, however, that the plant there cultivated almost exclu- 

 sively, and from which the tapioca of commerce is derived, is 

 the Manihot utilissima. This plant, thougli very similar in 

 botanical characters to M. Aipi, has some very olwious differ- 

 ences._ Its roots contain a poisonous principle, which, how- 

 ever, is dissipated partially on being grated, and entirely by the 

 heat employed in converting the starch into tapioca. Its roots 



are of uniform texture, and do not boil soft, while those of the 

 Sweet Cassava do boil soft except as to an axial bundle of 

 tough fibres. 



A small quantity of Florida Cassava-seed was obtained by a 

 few Louisiana farmers last spring, and those who have 

 reported results express themselves as highly satisfied. But 

 we must look to Florida growers of Cassava for that extended 

 experience with the crop which is necessary to a correct 

 knowledge of its requirements and profitableness. In the 

 southern portion of the state certain contributors to the agri- 

 cultural press have had this plant under observation for many 

 years, and to their efforts is mainly due the awakening of inter- 

 est in this crop. 



The Cassava plant is closely related to the Riciniis or Castor 

 Bean, which it resembles in general appearance. It is a hand- 

 somer plant, not having the coarse, rank aspect of Ricinus. 

 It does not bear much seed, and it is not propagated from 

 seed, but from cuttings of the larger stems, very much as 

 Sugar-cane is propagated. It is a tuberous-rooted perennial, 

 and though the top is killed by a moderate frost, if the stems 

 are cut so as to leave a few eyes at the base (there are no eyes 

 on the tubers), and these are protected by a light mulching or 

 covering of earth, the top will be renewed each successive 

 year. In south Florida the top has been known to remain 

 green for three consecutive seasons. 



Before it is time for frost the stems that are half an inch or 

 more in thickness should be cut, laid in piles and covered with 

 earth. It is said, also, that the stems may be kept where they 

 will become quite dry without having their vitality impaired. 

 When ready for planting, in January, February or March, the 

 stems are cut in pieces about six inches long. These are 

 planted four or five feet apart and three or four inches deep. 

 The crop receives shallow culture till sufficiently grown to 

 shade the ground and hold its own against weeds. It may be 

 left to grow for two years with advantage, thus requiring a 

 minimum amount of culture. The roots should be dug only 

 as wanted for use, as they decay soon after being exposed to 

 the air. Cassava requires mellow, well drained land, and re- 

 sponds readily to manuring. Florida's sand hills seem to be 

 specially adapted to this crop, better, perhaps, than to any 

 other. 



As to the quantity of Cassava root that may be obtained from 

 an acre of ground, no satisfactory estimates have as yet been 

 made. It must vary greatly under various conditions. A 

 single plant grown in Polk County produced fifty pounds of 

 roots, the top measuring eight feet in height and ten feet in 

 breadth. It had been highly manured. A person who has 

 given special attention to the Cassava thinks that from ten to 

 fifty tons of roots of one year's growth ought to be obtained from 

 an acre of land, according to its quality. This is little better 

 than conjecture, but certainly the plant yields enormously 

 under favorable conditions. 



The uses to which Cassava may be put are almost too 

 numerous to mention. By manufacture it may be converted, 

 with scarcely any waste, into starch, tapioca and glucose, and 

 into substances of minor importance. If it will furnish a sub- 

 stitute for wheat flour, that should head the list of its uses in a 

 region where wheat will not grow. Professor Wiley thinks it 

 is too deficient in nitrogen to serve that purpose, and that it 

 should rank in nutritive value with the Irish Potato. Probably 

 it may best be used in combination with flour and meal. In 

 the Tropics Cassava flour is used extensively for making a 

 large wafer or cracker, which is quite palatable, and keeps 

 without injury for months. Florida housewives have used it 

 for making bread, puddings, custards, fritters, jellies, etc.; 

 also as a vegetable it is used in all ways in which Irish potatoes 

 are used. 



It is as food for stock, however, that Cassava has excited 

 most interest in Florida. It is greatly relished by cattle, 

 horses, hogs and poultry, and seems to be a very wholesome 

 article of food. The great tubers, sometimes three or four 

 feet in length, may be taken from the ground at any time of 

 the year and used as food for man or beast. It will thus be 

 seen that the acquisition of Cassava promises to be a great 

 boon to the people of the extreme south, while its manufac- 

 ture should supply the place of at least one importation — that 

 of tapioca. 



Jacksonville, Fla. 



A. H. Curtiss. 



" It is in this way that the ardst-painter modifies his picture 

 (a picture so much simpler than the artist-gardener's), making 

 this part prettier or more like nature, correcting a shadow here, 

 patting emphasis there, — how then should the landscape 

 gardener, who nuist work with such refractory and uncertain 

 materials and bring unity out of a whole collection of pictures, 

 hope to succeed at the first attempt ! " Piickler Miiskau. 



