BULLETIN No. 158. 



FOOD OF MAN STUDIES. 



L. H. MERRILL. 



The contents of this bulletin are of a somewhat miscellaneous 

 character, although they all pertain to the food of man. With 

 the exception of the digestion experiments with hulled corn, 

 the work here reported was undertaken in response to demands 

 made upon the Station and not as the result of definitely made 

 plans. For convenience of reference the materials analyzed 

 have been grouped into several classes, the distinctions between 

 which are necessarily more or less arbitrary. 



Tropical Foods and Vegetables. 

 The samples of tropical or subtropical fruits and vegetables, 

 mostly from Florida and Porto Rico, were sent to the Station 

 for analysis by the United States Department of Agriculture. 

 While many of these products are not often met in the north, 

 it is not impossible that our rapidly extending commerce will in 

 the course of a few years place them upon our home markets. 

 In the case of those less generally known, a few descriptive notes 

 are added. 



5007-5008. Yautta or taniEr. (Xanthosoma sp.). This 

 plant is a native of tropical America and closely resembles the 

 taro, with which if is frequently confounded. The portion eaten 

 is the tuber, which is a horizontal branch of the vertical root 

 stock. It is one of the most important root-crops of Porto Rico, 

 and in the interior of the Island it fills a large place in the food 

 supply of the people. With the laboring classes the tubers are 

 prepared for the table simply by boiling, although they are said 

 to be more palatable when fried or baked. An average crop is 

 from 8 to 15 tons per acre.* 



Two distinct varieties were received, the flesh of one being 

 white and the other yellow. The coating of the second was 



♦Barrett. The Yautias or Taniers of Porto Rico. Porto Rico" Agr. "Expt. Sta., Bui. 



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