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COMMON TAPIOCA FLOUR. 



By A. L. De Mornay. 



The smaller Chinese growers, not having the sufficient capital 

 to erect steam machinery to work off their crops, discovered a 

 method some thirteen years ago, of producing an inferior Tapioca 

 flour, or more correctly speaking meal, by means of rotting the 

 tubers in water instead of disintegration, and thus avoiding the 

 necessity of motive power. 



It may interest some of your readers — especially those desirous 

 of introducing a catch crop to work as a concomitant of the per- 

 manent cultivation of their Estates — to have a description of the 

 process, which is as follows: — 



A hole or shallow well of suitable size iij proportion to the extent 

 of crop to be treated, is dug in the ground at a spot of sufficiently 

 low level to ensure the water remaining stagnant and not draining 

 away. The hole is then charged full of unwashed tubers, care . 

 being taken that all are entirely submerged, and there left for 4 to 

 7 davs. The time they take to rot depends to some extent on the 

 weather (a low temperature retarding putrefaction) and partly on 

 the degree of foulness the water may have reached according to 

 the length of time the same hole may have been previously em- 

 ployed for the purpose. A new hole with pure water, taking a 

 considerably longer time to accomplish putrefaction. 



When it is found that decomposition is sufficiently advanced to 

 mash the tubers to a pulp between the hand, they are removed 

 from the hole and placed in a large tub into which a man enters 

 and treads them out to as tine a pulp as possible. 



A basket of about J in. mesh is placed in a separate tub, and the 

 pulp is poured into this and stirred till the greater part passes 

 through the meshes of the basket, leaving only the woody and 

 imperfectly rotted portions of the root. Water is frequently poured 

 on the pulp to assist in straining the basket. When the desired 

 quantity of pulp has thus been treated, the basket is withdrawn 

 and the pulp left for 24 hours to precipitate. When it has settled, 

 as well as its fibrous nature will permit of, the water is baled out 

 of the tub and skimmed off the flour as much as possible. 



Ordinary gunnies (sacks) are then tied to sticks driven into the 

 ground in a triangular position, and the pulpy mass removed fro> 

 the tub and thrown into the sacks, where it is left to drairu_>* 

 way the water drains out of the pulp, and becomes of^ 

 consistency to be removed from the sacks, separated in 

 and spread over a cement space to dry in the sun. W 

 the lumps are broken smaller, and when comparative!" 



J den out and finally sifted through bamboo siev 



I mesh, and packed for the market. 



The proportion of so called " Flour" obtain 

 may be calculated at 27 to 32 %. 



A. L. De 



