Edible Products. 162 [March 1907. 



(a) A small kind producing yellow tubers, this is called " butter Manioca," on 

 account of its sweet flavour ; its stems are short and twisted. 



(6) "Rata" Manioca : literally, the imported or foreign kind, the stem is of 

 a light pinkish colour. 



(c) Ratu or Red Manioca, the petioles are of a bright red. 



(d) " Wal" or " Sudu" Manioca (wild or white) manioca, the bark and leaf- 

 stalks are dull green. 



Of these, the last, which grows to a much greater height than the others, 

 is generally avoided as being poisonous ; its yams are whiter and larger than the 

 others. The Randyans usually call this variety " Mat Manioca," on account of its 

 intoxicating properties. This is the kind that chiefly serves as sticks for live fences. 



The question of the cultivation of Cassava in Ceylon has been ably dealt 

 with by the Hon. Mr. J. P. Lewis, c.c.s., in a paper published by the Ceylon 

 Agricultural Society. The paper mainly treats of the subject from a Jaffna point of 

 view. Amongst the Kandyans there is no systematic cultivation of the plant, and it 

 is grown only on a small scale in their home gardens or chena lands. 



Cassava as a Food-Stuff. 



The Kandyans usually eat the yams boiled or converted into curry. The 

 low-country Sinhalese, who grow the plant on a more extensive scale, besides cooking 

 the yams in this way, cut them into slices and, after drying in the sun, pound them 

 into flour, which is used for cakes, conjee, etc, ; owing to its starchy properties.it 

 forms a palatable and nutritious diet. The leaves make a good dry curry and the 

 rind is made into cakes and fried. 



In some parts of South America, Cassava forms the staple food of the popu- 

 lation, and large quantities are used for feeding cattle. In Africa and the West Indies 

 it is largely used for making a sort of bread, and the yams are baked and eaten like 

 potatoes. In some parts of South America an extract prepared from the core of 

 one species of Cassava is said to form the basis of the table sauces so largely manu- 

 factured in England. Tapioca obtained by scraping the starchy tubers, was, it is 

 said, an important article of food among the Caiibs, when they were first discovered 

 by Europeans : they call it Yuca." In Brazil and other countries where the culti- 

 vation is very extensive, tapioca forms a very important article of export, and it 

 has recently been reported that in the Malay States a large proportion of the crop is 

 used in the manufacture of a spirit which is extensively used to adulterate Scotch 

 whisky. It would be interesting to learn whether the Cassava yams in these 

 countries develop poisonous properties as in Ceylon. 



Poisonous Characteristics : Precautions, 



The eating of Cassava is very frequently attended by symptoms of violent 

 poisoning, often ending fatally. At Gampola, lately, a Moorish woman purchased 

 some manioca tubers at the Local Board market and cooked them lor the evening 

 meal. Soon afterwards she fainted and began to vomit and purge in quick success- 

 ion, and died the same night. The other members of the household also exhibited 

 the same symptoms, but gradually rallied. Some of the villagers of Keerapone (a 

 suburb of Gampola) who also partook of the ill-fated food, suffered in a similar 

 manner, but recovered under native treatment. Quite recently a case occurred on a 

 tea estate close by : the parents left on a pilgrimage to Alutnuwara (Kegalle District) 

 leaving their elder boy and two little ones at home. Unfortunately the children ate 

 manioca yams foi dinner. On their return, the following day, the parents were 

 struck with horror at finding all three children dead. Not long ago, at Lunugama, 

 a village in Udunuwara, a boy died of eating a dry curry of manioca leaves. Fatal- 

 ities of this nature may be mentioned by scores ; hardly a year passes without 

 some casualties of this description being reported, and a large number of eases are, 

 of course, unrecorded. 



