40 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
January, rgrt 
Substitute for Potatoes 
By William Atherton De Puy 
\y HE Department of Agriculture at its ex- 
periment station in South Carolina last 
year raised a ton and a half of aroid 
tubers on a sixth of an acre of land. 
These tubers are the foundation for the 
poi of the Hawaiians, the malanga of the 
Cubans, the oto of the Panamans—foods 
that are the main sustenance of the peoples named. ‘The 
aroids are the staff of life for many millions of people the 
world around dwelling in the tropics. Numerically they 
probably support as many people as does rice or wheat. 
Not only this, but they support these millions at a cost aver- 
aging less than five cents a day. 
The Department of Agriculture has begun the experi- 
ment of determining whether or not the aroids may be 
grown in the United States to the benefit of the people. 
They have been raised experimentally and have produced 
promising crops in practically all the Southern states. It 
has been demon- 
strated that crops 
amounting to fif- 
teen and _ twenty 
tons to the acre 
may be grown on 
practically any of 
the lowlands of the 
South. It is believed 
that they may be 
produced in quan- 
tities at less expense 
than may potatoes, 
and that they pro- 
vide a food that is 
in every way equal 
to that staple and 
furnishes an agree- ari: 
largely cultivated as a food yielding plant. These plants 
grow abundantly on low and wet lands. They require lit- 
tle cultivation and yield prodigiously. Because of this large 
yield and small amount of labor required, the aroids came 
to be cultivated in the tropics in the early centuries when 
man first began to take thought and to plant food-bearing 
crops. They are among the oldest cultivated plants in 
the world. They grow abundantly in Central America, 
South America, the West Indies, equatorial Africa, Ma- 
laysia, Japan, China. In this last country they are largely 
cultivated in latitudes that correspond with that of Wash- 
ington, D. C., in this country. From these facts and from 
the experience already had it is believed that they offer 
great possibilities in the United States and that their intro- 
duction might add a new food that would not only give 
greater variety but cheaper living here. 
The tubers grow on the roots of the aroids much as 
potatoes grow. They thrive under such conditions of mois- 
ture as are favor- 
able to rice-. Inwa 
moist, loose soil the 
plant may be taken 
by the top and 
lifted, roots and all, 
from the earth. The 
tubers are as large 
as the fist and coy- 
ered with a some- 
what rough — skin. 
When baked they 
come out of this 
skin with even more 
readiness than does 
the potato. They 
may be peeled easily 
before cooking and 
able substitute and they lend themselves 
change. The _ ex- These are the aroid tubers that promise cheap food for the nation to frying, boiling, 
periments will be baking, and all 
carried forward on a much larger scale next year, the 
special varieties that thrive best in this country will be se- 
lected, and when decided upon will be placed in the hands 
of numbers of intelligent experimenters who want to take 
further steps toward developing the crop. 
The aroids, having been grown for centuries in various 
parts of the world, have differentiated and there are hun- 
dreds of varieties. The plant representing them with whick 
Americans are most familiar is the “‘elephant’s ear,’ used 
as an ornamental plant in many American gardens. The 
taro of Hawaii is probably the best known variety that is 
manner of combinations. In flavor they are entirely in- 
dividual but attractive. There is more flavor to them than 
to potatoes and a wide variety among the different kinds. 
This flavor may be described as being somewhat nutty. It 
appeals to most tastes. The aroids offer great possibilities 
as a food for the millions of the temperate zones. Their 
coming into general use is not at all improbable. 
They will be an important addition to food products that 
may be a substitute not only for potatoes, but a means of 
meeting deficiencies apt to obtain even in the near intensive 
cultivation of crops in this country. 
