March 1908.] 



211 



Edible Products. 



COMMERCIAL VALUE OF CASSAVA 

 STARCH. 



It would appear that a well-made 

 cassava starch is worth £14 to £16 per 

 ton in the English market. A contract 

 for a large quantity of cassava starch at 

 the latter price ha* been secured by a 

 planter in the West Indies, and sales of 

 cassava starch from Jamaica have 

 recently been made at £14 per ton 

 c.i.f. At such prices as these there is a 

 liberal margin for meeting those con- 

 tingencies of industrial operations in the 

 West Indies for which it is impossible to 

 make allowance, and on account ot 

 which many a project has proved a 

 failure, when the apparent margin is 

 too limited. 



The ' bitty,' when dried, is a valuable 

 cattle food. A sample from the Longville 

 factory was found to contain 65"7 per 

 cent, of carbohydrates on a basis of 15 

 per cent, of moisture, and should find a 

 ready sale at 50s. to 60s. per ton. A 

 planter from Dominica recently informed 

 me that he had found a good market for 

 cassaripe in England, and it is possible 

 that this article may become a useful by- 

 product in the manufacture of cassava 

 starch. We in Jamaica have so far been 

 unable to find a market for this product 

 in the United Kingdom, and if a demand 

 should arise it could be produced in large 

 quantities here. 



Conclusion. 



Cassava is a plant that has survived 

 from the earliest occupation of the island 

 by mankind, and is capable of yielding 

 returns of search under suitable condi- 

 tions. These encouraging facts place it 

 ahead of any. other plant grown for the 

 purpose of starch production. 



Further, the intrinsic qualities of 

 cassava starches producible in Jamaica 

 are of a high order, and a well-made 

 article can command a high price. 



It would appear that this industry 

 offers a field for investment and develop- 

 ment whereby large areas of land, at 

 present of small productive power, could 

 be made to yield a handsome profit — 

 West Indian Bulletin, Vol. VIII, No. 3. 



LETTUCE CULTURE. 

 By C. F. Austin and E. W. Halstead, 

 Chief and First Assistant of the Depart- 

 ment of Horticulture of the Hatac%6n 

 Central Agron6mxca, Cuba. 



The origin of cultivated lettuce (Lac- 

 tuca sativa, Linn.) is unknown, but it is 

 supposed to have originated from Lactuca 

 scariola, Linn, in Asia. This popular 

 salad vegetable has been under cultiva- 

 tion for more than 2,000 years, 



L3fcfcnce is a quick-gi-owi ng annual ; it 

 delights in a cool temperature and moist 

 open soil. The forcing of lettuce under 

 glass has become a very prominent 

 industry in the northern half of the 

 United States and many other countries 

 having a similar temperature. One can 

 gain some idea of the lettuce industry, 

 as statistics show that California alone 

 grows over five hundred acres each year 

 for seed. This area produces over 250,000 

 pounds of seed annually. Large areas of 

 lettuce are grown each year along the 

 southern seacoast from Florida to Texas 

 for shipment to northern cities. The 

 cultivation of this vegetable is extending 

 rapidly in this region, for nice lettuce 

 can be grown out of doors and shipped 

 for less money than it costs to grow it 

 under glass. 



We have experimented with over forty 

 varieties during the past year, and it is 

 our purpose to call attention to this im- 

 portant garden crop in the following 



Eages. Lettuce grows so successfully 

 ere that there is no reason why every 

 person who has a garden spot should not 

 have an abundance every month in the 

 year, though it grows best from October 

 to May. 



Growing of Plants.— The soil in the 

 seed-bed should be made very fine, loose, 

 and mellow for the seed is small and 

 very light. It should be sown rather 

 thickly across the bed in rows from two 

 to three inches wide and from one-fourth 

 to one-half inch deep ; cover the seeds 

 lightly and press the soil down firmly 

 over them. They should germinate and 

 be coming up in from five to eight days. 

 One to one and one-halt ounces of seed 

 will give plants enough to set one acre. 

 As soon as the plants have the first 

 rough leaves started they should be 

 transplanted into another bed. In trans- 

 planting it is best to have the rows four 

 inches wide and the plants two inches 

 apart in the row. They are left in this 

 bed until ready to set in the field or in 

 permanent beds. The seed-beds should 

 have plenty of humus or well-rotted 

 stable manure thoroughly mixed with 

 the soil. When the young plants are 

 first transplanted they should be shaded 

 from the sun for a few days. It will 

 usually be from two to three weeks from 

 the time the plants are first transplanted 

 until they are ready to set in the field, 

 or about five weeks from the sowing of 

 the seed. The plants should be large 

 and strong when set in the field, having 

 from four to six well-formed leaves. For 

 the construction of seed-beds see Cir- 

 circular No. 11. 



Soil.— Lettuce is a very cosmopolitan 

 plant as to soil ; for home use almost 



