EDITORIAL. 



95 



The analyses of Philippine cassava tabulated below, show it to contain 

 about the same percentage of starch as the same plant found in other 

 parts of the world. The following two plants were from a plantation on 

 Basilan Island, the analyses being made by Mr. Eeibling : 



Item. 



Age of plant months__ 



Weight of roots grams— 



Moisture per cent- 

 Dry residue do 



CommerciaUy extractable. 



Air-dry starch per cent__ 



Ash.. do 



P0O5 _ do 



HON .. do 



Total N as KH3 do 



K2O do- 



11. 



10 



12 



10,872 



14,360 



54.6 



54.7 



45.4 



45.3 



27 



26 



.81 



.95 



.13 



.13 



.24 



.15 



.51 



.58 



.15 



.18 



The large increase in weight noted for twelve months as compared to 

 ten months is worthy of attention, as I have been repeatedly told by 

 Filipinos in many different parts of the Islands that if the plants are 

 allowed to grow for from eighteen months to two years, the tubers will 

 then be very large, weighing 80 to 120 pounds per plant. 



Five and three-tenths kilos of cassava of imlaiown age, from Ilizal 

 Province, gave by grinding on a nutmeg grater, 1,350 grams air-dry 

 starch (35 per cent) and 600 grams (11.3 per cent) of fibrous residue 

 •containing 64 p)er cent of starch. Experiment demonstrated that hj 

 grinding this fibrous residue dry in a mortar, a further 3.5 j)er cent of the 

 total of starch could be obtained. However, under jDresent-day conditions 

 of cheap land and cheap labor in the Philippines, it is not good business 

 policy to attemijt to obtain any high extraction of the starch from the 

 roots, as to extract this last few per cent costs relative!}' more than to 

 remove the first 20 per cent of starch and the money can he used to better 

 advantage in raising more roots. 



One thousand three hundred grams of cassava roots (said to be 2 

 years old) were rasped on the machine describeil in the article referred 

 to above, giving lOO grams of air-dry starcii (30.77 per cent) or 27 per 

 cent dry weight, and 110 grams of fibrous residue (8.4 per cent). The 

 starch in this residue was 51 per cent. 



Four thousand grams of tubers (age unknown) fnDin Batangas Prov- 

 ince, gave 1,050 grams of dry starcli (26.9 per cent), and 345 grams of 

 fibrous residue (8.5 per cent). 



The above percentages are quoted as samples of the yield of starch 

 which may be obtained in a commercial way from Philippine camoting 

 cahoy. Other analyses made in this laboratory run from 24 to 30 per 



