M AY, 1912.] 



411 



Edible Products. 



of Cassava in Madagascar, but in the 

 Tananarivo region hardly more than 

 three are known : the " Mangahazo 

 Gasy," the " Mangahazo Masombica,'' 

 and the " Mangahazo Borib oana," The 

 latter is held in most esteem. It seems 

 to correspond to the variety known in 

 Reunion u nder the name of " Camanioc." 



The yields of Cassava vary very 

 greatly. In the island of Reunion, 20 

 to 25 tons per hectare is regarded as a 

 good yield of Camanioc and 50 to 60 

 tons as an exceptional harvest. The 

 Soso Cassava when cultivated in the 

 field gives a yield exceeding that of 

 Camanioc by about 15 to 20 %. Singapore 

 Cassava, whicb ripens in the course of 

 a year (instead of 18 to 24 months) pro- 

 duces about one-fifth less than Camanioc. 

 On the East Coast of Madagascar the 

 production approaches 25 tons without 

 manuring ; in the environs of Tananarivo 

 it is barely 10 tons per hectare. In 

 Brazil this culture yields from 25 to 30 

 tons per hectar e.t 



In Reunion the cost price of a hectare 

 2*47 acres) of Cassava (and Maize as 

 an alternating culture) is made up as 

 follows : — 



Francs 



General expenses ... ... 20- 



Interest on capital ... ... 80' 



Two crossed harrowings ... 10' 



Ploughing 80' 



Carting Cassava and Maize ... 75' 

 Planting ... ... 25' 



utilissima may become innocuous, and, on the 

 contrary, the M. aipi poisonous, as the case may 

 be. In Madagascar all the Cassava cultivated 

 appear to belong to the category of sweet 

 Cassavas. It is not rare, however, to had the 

 Cassava roots becoming charged with bitter 

 substances in certain positions, particularly on 

 lowlying lands. In Reunion it is held that the 

 Cassava often becomes bitter when successive 

 harvests are made on the same land, with slips 

 obtained from these harvests. 



tAccording to the data collected by M. 

 Sender, each Cassava plant produces on the 

 average 4 to 6 kilogrammes of tubes ; the pro- 

 duction per hectare is said to be 40,000 to 60,000 

 kgs. — H. Semler, Bio Tropische Agriculture, 

 Wismar, 1900, II, p. 787. 



Francs. 



Upkeep ..i ... 105' 



Harvesting (lifting) ... ... 37'50 



Preparation of Maize ... ... 1'50 



Alternate planting ... ... 10' 



144' 



Products. 

 30 tons of Cassava at 15 fr. ... 450 

 1-2 „ Maize at 150 „ ... 180 



630 



Profit over hectare : f r. 63-444 = f r. 186. 



In Madagascar the expenses seem to 

 be very much lower. They are made up 

 approximately as follows : — 



Francs. 



General expenses (only noted, to 

 be reduced as much as possible) 

 Two ploughings and harrowing... 30 

 Planting Cassava (by hand) ... 15 

 Upkeep (hoeing twice and 



ridging once) ... ... 60 



Lifting ... ... 10 



Cleaning and conveying to 



works ... ... 10 



Manuring ... ... 45 



180 



In Sambirano, a hectare of Cassava 

 involves an expenditure of about 145 

 francs, and produces from 25 to 40 tons 

 of green roots. Allowing for depreci- - 

 ation of plant, buildings, cattle and 

 general expenses, each hectare grown 

 with Cassava in Sambirano would give 

 225 francs net profit. 



A ton of Green Cassava yields about 

 400 kg. of sliced and dried Cassava with 

 the black skin removed. The Camanioc 

 furnishes from 18 to 20 % of starch. 

 Factory expenses in the Island of Re- 

 union are 56 50 fr. for tapioca, and 41'50 

 fr, per ton for starch. Absolutely dry 

 Cassava contains 97'5 % of constituents ' 

 convertible into sugar (M. de Brevans 

 laboratory experiments). In industry 

 100 kg. of dry cassava produce from 45 

 to 50 litres of very full alcohol of 90" 

 strength, with easily rectified residue, 

 The Cassava flour may also be employed 

 for feeding calves. 



