j^g FARM CROPS 



CASSAVA. — There are two varieties of this 

 plant, the bitter and the sweet. In the former 

 hydrocyanic acid is found in the roots and is, there- 

 fore, poisonous. It is grown mostly in the tropics. 

 The sweet variety is non-poisonous, and because of 

 its large starch content is a splendid stock food. 

 Cassava has as yet received no extensive use as a 

 farm crop outside of Florida, but it has possibilities 

 in other gulf states. It is now commercially grown 

 for starch as well as a stock food and so satisfac- 

 tory have been the tests made of it that its use 

 should be greatly extended. 



The commercial value is in the roots, or, more 

 properly, the enlarged underground stems. These 

 run from i inch to 3 inches in diameter and from 

 I to 4 feet in length and contain about 20 per cent 

 of starch and about 3 per cent of sugar. The 

 Florida experiment station says that cassava comes 

 nearer furnishing the Florida farmer with a univer- 

 sally profitable crop than any other which he can 

 grow on equally large areas. It can be utilized in 

 more ways, it can be sold in more different forms, 

 it can be cheaply converted into staple and finished 

 products and can be produced for a smaller part 

 of its selling price than any other crop. 



Land for cassava should be prepared in about the 

 same way as that for corn. Rows 4 feet apart are 

 plowed out and in these rows the seed or canes are 

 dropped and covered by a turn plow or some sim- 

 ilar implement. The canes are used for seed, 

 being cut in sections from 4 to 6 inches in length. 

 The first cultivation after the plants are up should 

 be deep, and subsequent cultivations should be 

 shallow and frequent, as for corn. After a few 

 weeks, the plants assume a shrublike appearance, 



