38 Uses of the Potaioe. 
The strainer now used is of very fine texture, so that no 
improper or accidental admixture may interfere. As soon as 
the starch thus purified, has firmly subsided, it is spread on a 
board, and exposed to the open air. The damp speedily 
evaporates, on which it is, as a security for cleanliness, put 
through a sieve. 
A large circular pan is now procured, and set upon the fire. 
The farina is gradually put into the pan, till what is conceiv- 
ed to be sufficient for one cooking has been supplied. As 
the natural tendency of the farina, in a warm state, is to ad- 
here to the pan, great care is requisite in constantly turning 
and stirring it. This is effectually done with a broad flat 
piece of wood, having a long handle to prevent inconvenience 
from the heat. A temperature of one hundred and fifty de- 
grees, Fahrenheit, suits best for perfecting the tapioca. When 
the farina becomes quite hard, dry and gritty, it is then ready, 
and may be taken off the fire— Quarterly Journal of Agri- 
culture, Vol. LL, p. 68. 
Potash may be extracted from potatoe leaves and stalks, 
by the followmg process:— Cut off the stalks when the 
flowers begin to fall, as that is the period of their greatest 
vigor; leave them on the ground eight or ten days to dry; 
cart them to a hole dug in the earth, about five feet square by 
two feet deep, and then burn them, keeping the ashes red-hot 
as long as possible. Afterwards take out the ashes, pour 
boiling water on them, and then evaporate the water. There 
remains, after the evaporation, a dry saline reddish substance, 
known in commerce under the name of salin; the more the 
ashes are boiled, the greyer and more valuable the salin be- 
comes. ‘The salim must be calcined in a very hot oven, until 
the whole mass presents a uniform reddish brown. In cool- 
ing it remains dry, and in fragments bluish within, and white 
on the surface, in which state it takes the name of potash. — 
Smtth’s Mechanic, Vol. IL, p. 381. 
