83 



Edible Products. 



Peculiarities.— I have found that this plant very often borrows its 

 "goodness" or "badness" from the trees around which it grow*. If grown 

 near a " kokaUa " tree in Battiealoa the yam is useless for eating, and serious 

 results may be the issue if eaten. 



Its use in other Countries.— It is the staple food of the Indians of British 

 Honduras, Columbia, Guiana, Jamaica, Trinidad, Paraguay, Florida and Brazil. 

 There are factories for the manufacture of starch in Jamaica and Florida, and 

 in these two countries, where the crop is estimated to be 9 tons per acre, 

 thousands of acres are under cultivation. 



It is also used as an article of food for cattle as " every beef animal 

 can be put in the condition of western stall-fed cattle by the simple use of 

 Cassava at a mere fraction of the cost to the corn-feeders of the west." This 

 starch is said to be far superior to wheat starch. 



Cassava is cultivated in all the French Colonies, and the making of Tapioca 

 is one of the most interesting of all the French Colonial manufactures. The 

 starch is employed besides in many manufactures— paper-making, soap-making, 

 in the making of glucose or starch sugar, and in making size and adhesive pastes. 

 Cassava flour is also used in the preparation of cakes. 



Its Cultivation in the Island. — It is grown by natives in small patches in 

 the " upcountry districts " and in the Eastern Province. Many of the English 

 planters have grown Cassava on a large scale in the Battiealoa district. I have seen 

 patches grown all down the Southern Province and about Awisawella and Ratnapura. 



Except in Battiealoa the extent under cultivation is very small and not 

 sufficient even for the local use. The tubers or roots always find a ready sale in 

 the market ; many hawker women are seen with boiled Cassava for sale on the 

 streets of Colombo and Kandy. A few have tried with success the experiment of 

 preparing Cassava flour, but the commonest use is to cut the yams into pieces of 

 about 2" cube and dried. This is known in the Battiealoa District as " odiyal," and 

 a great demand is to be found among traders with Jaffna. 



Its use in the Island.— It is eaten as a vegetable after boiling or roasting 

 (native method of shoving a yam into hot embers). It has taken the place of 

 potatoes or yams at many a well-to-do man's house. Many a poor family depends 

 on it as their only meal when no rice could be had. 



Soil, Method of Planting and the Yield.— It thrives best in the light sandy 

 soil. It thrives under the most diverse conditions of climate, on dry plains, on rocky 

 hillsides as well as humid plains and hills— wherever the soil is rocky or gravelly. 

 The plant is cut into pieces from 3" to 1' 6" and planted 3' apart. Very often two 

 pieces are planted in the same hole cross ways, like an X. The yield is from 8 to 10 

 tons an acre, or from 40 to 80 lbs. per plant. It is drought resisting and therefore 

 even 14" of rainfall can secure an abundant crop. 



Time of Cultivation.— The best time for cultivation is to plant the stick 

 cuttings as soon as the monsoon breaks. From time of planting to harvesting the 

 least time is 6 months, and therefore in places where both the North-East and 

 South- West rains are received two crops can be gathered in a year. To get a 

 good crop it must be planted annually. In districts where chena cultivation is 

 carried on, it is best to plant Cassava before kurakkan is sown. 



Advantages, Commercial and Otherwise.— I. Roots or tubers produce more 

 starch per acre than any other vegetable or grain. 



2. It thrives best in light sandy soil, which is not thought of much worth. 



3. The starch is said to be superior to wheat starch. 



