markably well on the all presbnt sandy soil. On tlio day of my visit to A 

 100 acres field fertilizers were applied to the field, to th& value of $500* 

 I pointed out that larger returns would be obtainable from a b«tter soil, 

 iii fact double the crop. The yield of starch from the tuber is from 17 to 

 20 per cent. It is also noteworthy that the manulacture of tapioca and 

 dextrine from cassava are to be taken, up with the least possible delay. 



The coloured labourers employed in this cultivation are paid $1 a day 

 From th^ planting to harvest seven taonths are requisite. On account of 

 the winter- frosts the seed (stem cuttiiigs) has to be buried in the sand for 

 several months. Great piles of them are thus covered during winter. 

 The cost of preparing the land for this cultivation is $40 per acre. This 

 for digging up the Palmetto roots which cover the land. 



I quote the following from a Savannah Newspaper of June 29th, 1901, 

 relative to this cassava factory : '■ Brunswick's Board of Trade held an 

 interesting meeting to-day to hear an informal address from President Per- 

 kins of the Florida Starch Factory, and for a lengthy session President 

 Perkins entertained a large attendance. President Perkins is en route 

 to the North, where he will study the needs of various cotton factories in 

 their use of starch, and will still further adapt his factory to the manufac- 

 ture of products suited to them. At present his firm has about $100,000 in- 

 vested in the development of the cassava industry and the enlargement of 

 their plant is one of the near by plans." 



During my sojourn in Florida, I collected other valuable information 

 regarding cassava as an article of food for cattle, etc. Indeed Florida is 

 determined to make cassava a leading staple product. The matter is dis- 

 cussed everywhere. 



From the report of the Professot at the Florida Agricultural Experi- 

 mental Station I make the following extracts " With all the facts procura- 

 ble, and with the experience not only of myself, but many practical far- 

 mers to support the opinion, I have reached the conclusion that, all things 

 considered, cassava comes nearer furnishing the Florida farmer with a more 

 ■universally profitable crop than any other which he can grow on equally 

 large areas. It can be utilized in more ways, can be sold in more dif- 

 ferent forms, can be more cheaply converted into staple and finished pro- 

 ducts and can be produced for a smaller part of its selling price than any 

 other crop. 



" It is unquestionably true that cassava, all things considered, comes 

 nearer supplying a perfect ration for farm stock than any other concen- 

 trated food produced upon Florida farms. 



" Every beef animal in Florida can be put in the condition of western 

 stall-fed cattle by the simple use of cassava at a mere fraction of the cost 

 to the corn feeders of the west. 



" An acre yielding 40 bushels of com would at this rate produce 1,187 

 pounds of starch, while an acre of cassava producing 6 tons would yield 

 2,400 pounds of starch. 



" It thus appears that cassava is to-day the cheapest known source of 

 starch, costing at present market ralues of raw material only about one- 

 fourth as much as its nearest competitor. 



" Not only therefore, does the high yield of starch in cassava place it 

 prominently before manufacturers as a probable new material for the 

 great glucose industry, at present practically dependent upon corn, but 

 moreover cassava contains two other constituents worthy of consideratior. 

 in this connection, namely, its 8 per cent, of sugar, against the 0.4 pei 

 cent, in corn and 1.68 per cent, of fibre^ as compared with 2.20 per cent, 

 pioom. 



