590 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUEIST. [MaeCh 2, 1903. 
Britain. Beyond the comparatively small nnmber of 
people who have visited the tropics few have definite 
knowledge as to the nature of the plant, or of the 
wholesome and palatable character of the food it 
provides. 
Although grown throughout the tropics, it is in the 
West Indies that Yams are to be found at their best 
and in the greatest variety and abundance. During 
the time of the year they are in season they form a 
standard dish at the planter's table, in addition to 
being one of the staple foods of the estate labourer 
and in fact, of all classes throughout the West Indies. 
The' majority of visitors to the West Indies become 
even in the course of a brief stay, very partial to 
the yam. ... 
For those who have not visited the tropics the 
general character of the yam plant may perhaps be 
best described by saying that it closely resembles 
in habit the black bryony of English hedgerows. 
The plants are near relatives and agree in their 
twining stems and shining heart sh-iped leaves. Both, 
moreover, have and underground tuberous ' root,' but 
whiUt that of the bryony is uneatable, the yam ' root ' 
supplies man with one of the most wholesome vege- 
tables the world affords. 
The varieties of yams are legion. Some are distin- 
guished by the names of places whence they were 
first obtained, others by descriptive riacnes, such as 
' horn yam, ' ' snake yam ' etc. Yams vary greatly in 
size and appearance. Usually they are covered by a 
deep brown skin, and their flesh is firm and of various 
shades of white, yellow, or in some few cases dis- 
tinctly purple. Some are not more than 6 inches long 
and one pouod or so in weight, whilst other varieties 
measure 3 or 4 feet in length, 6 or 9 inches in diameter, 
and weigh 30, 40, 50, or even 100 pounds, 
Their cultivation is comparatively simple. The up- 
per portion of a yam called the ' yam head ' is put in 
the ground. It produces fresh leafy shoots, and the 
new yams slowly form and mature beneath the ground. 
In Barbados the foliage is allowed to trial over the 
surface of the ground, whilst in Jamaica, Trinidad, 
etc., a stout stick is stuck in by each plant up which 
it climbs, so that a yam patch somewhat resembles 
a miniature hop field. The different varieties of yams 
take varying periods to come to maturity. Some kinds 
are ripe in five mouths, whilst others do not reach per- 
fection for nine months or even a year. 
The following hints prepared by Mrs. J. R. Bovell, 
are published for cooking yams and presenting them 
in an attractive form at table. 
Boasted Yams.— lay a yam before the grates of the 
stove or in the oven, tuvniog it occasionally until 
cooked, Scrape off the outer skin, cut into pieces or 
mash with butter and serve hot. 
Baked Yams. — Pare a yam, put it in the oven and 
bake until soft, take it out o£ the skin, mash with 
butter, put bacli into skin, cut in pieces and serve hot. 
Boiled Yams. — Pare a yam, put it into boiling water, 
jjook until tender, serve whole. 
Yam Chips — Pare and boil a yam until tinder. Cut 
in chips, fry in boiling lard and serve hot. 
Yam Eice. — Pare and boil a yam until tender, press 
through a colander on to a hot dish, shake the colan- 
der lightly every few seconds to cause the yam to fall 
off in short grains like rice and serve very hot. 
Yam Bissoles, — Pare, boil and mash a yam, add 
pepper and salt and, if liked, a little minced parsley, 
Shape into rissoles, cover with egg and bread crumbs 
and fry until a light brown. 
Y'AM Border, — Pare, boil and mash a fair-sized yam 
abtut two pounds in weight, add to it two tablespoon- 
fula butter, half a cup boiling milk, one tablespoouful 
salt, the yolks of two eggs well beaten ; beat the mix- 
ture until very light. Btitter a border mould, pack the 
•yam in it and let it stand for eight minutes. Beat the 
whites of the eggs to a froth, add salt, turn out yam, 
cover with the whites and put in an oven to brown. 
Take from oven and till the centre with meat or fresb 
fish heated in » sauce. 
Yam au Choicx. — One pound boiled yam, one boiled 
cabbage, two lablespoonfuls cream, one ounce butter, 
with salt and pepper to taste. 
Rub the yam and cabbage through a wire sieve, mix 
together with butter, cream and seasoning. Pile upon 
a dish and serve with fried croutons of bread around. 
Serve very hot. 
Porcupine Yam. — Two pounds yam, boil and mash 
with one egg and salt to taste. Shape and roll in 
beaten egg and vermicelli; fry. Serve hot with 
parsley. 
Yam Feixteks.— Pare and boil half a pound of yam 
until soft, beat lightly with a fork. Beat the yolks of 
four and the whites of three eggs, add two table spoon- 
fuls of cream, two tablespoon? uls of wine, one dessert- 
spoonful of lemon juice and half a teaspoonful grated 
nutmeg beat all altogether until extremely light. 
Put plenty of lard into a frying pan and drop a table- 
spoonful of the butter at a time into it, and fry the 
fritters a nice brown ; seive with wine sauce served 
separattly, or only sprinkle powdered sugar over them. 
Yam Pudding. — Half a pound yam, two eggs, one 
lemon, two ounces butter two ounces sugar. Pare and 
boil the yam and rub it through a sieve w ile hot. 
Beet the butter and the yam together and a'low the 
nhole to cool. Break the eggs and separate ihe yolks, 
from the whites. Beat the yolks until light, add sugar 
juice of lemon the grated rind and the yam. Whisk 
the whites to a stiff froth and stir lightly in before 
baking. Put in a well buttered dish and bake in a brisk 
oven for twenty minutes. 
Yams en Bnm. — Cut up one pound of yam already 
boiled and fry a light brown, sprinkle thickly with 
chopped parsley and shalot or mushroom, pepper, ta^.e 
and lime juice, and serve very hot, 
« 
BALATA GUM IN BRAZIL. 
The United States Consul at Para states that 
attention ha'5 recently been directed to the possi- 
bilitit-s of the balata fields on the Amazon. A gutta- 
percha merchant in the Guianas, examining this region 
about a year ago, found the balata tree growing in 
abundance near Para, and on the Amazon and its 
tributaries for thousands of miles. The Brjizilians 
hal no knowledge of its gum producing qualities. 
After persistent eiiort, he succeeded in interesting 
persons in ihe United States and Para, bought a 
concession, and has lately begun the practical work 
of producing gutta-percha for the market. As in the 
case of rubber there is practically no limit to the 
supply of gutta-percha on the Amazon, and as it can 
be produced at a fraction of the cost of rubber, it 
offers a much higher per centage of profit. 
The Consul quotes the following report on this 
subject from Mr. William (-Jerdeau, who has had a 
practical experience of many years in the Guianaa 
where he represented American and English gutta- 
percha importers and marfaged balata estates : — 
"Pursuant to your request I submit the following 
report of my personal investigations of the balata 
fields of Brazil during my recent explorations of 
this region : "The balata or bulle tree known in the 
Brazilian language as the macaranduba, grows in 
great abundance throughout the Amazon valley but 
up to this time no attempt has ever been made to 
introduce the guttapercha trade in this country. 
" For more than 80 years this trade has been carried 
on with immensely profitable results in the Guianas 
and the Orinoco Valley, but those fields are now 
almost exhausted and very little gutta-percha has 
recently been shipped. " It is my opinion that this 
balata trade can be made to rival the rubber trade 
in this country, as it can be produced here in un- 
limited quantities and its quantity is if not better 
at least as good as the Guiana balata. " I have 
found the balata trees scattered and in groves, 
sometimes amounting to forests many miles in 
extent, all over the States of Para and Amazonas, and 
I am informed on trustworthy authority that vast 
