796 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGEICITLTUEIST. 
[June 2, 190?. 
over cassava contains two other constituents worthy 
of consideration in this connection, npmely, its 3 per 
cent, of sugar, against the 0'4 per cent, in corn and 
1'68 per cent, of fibre, as compared with 2 20 per cent 
of corn. 
" Manufacturers are now consid ering the importance 
of these facts, and there is good reason for expecting 
tbe erection of at least two gluco factories in the rear 
future, which will depend upon cassava for their law 
material,'' The same authority s?)s in another 
report: "The actual piofit on the feeding of the cas- 
save steers was 48'41 per cent on the invpptmeiit. The 
cotton seed steers returned a profit of 37"43 per cent, 
and the corn fed steers ]4"?8 per cent. The difference 
between lots 1 and 2 is decidedly apparent and shews 
casfava to be very materially the cheapest and best 
ration which can be used for fattening purposes. The 
most astonishing fact, however, is the very great differ- 
ence demonstrated between the cost and the lesnlts of 
feeding corn and feeding cassava, the difference being 
almost two-thirds in favour of the latter. Cassava 
proves itself a most superior beef fattening food. The 
cost of live weight beef produced by feeding cassava is 
I'l cents per pound, and in 75 days a profit of 5900 
per cent was made by fattening beef upnn cassava." 
The Timpa Herald says "The one thing nectfsnry 
to secure for Florida an immigrB.tion that will ronveit 
our pine woods into paying faims, is the discovery 
and fixed establishment of a money crop ; a staj le 
that can be produced cn every farm in the stale, and 
which will always bring cash to the farmer in profit- 
able volume so that he can every year have some sur- 
plus money to put in the Bank ; unless-- he should pre- 
fer to enlarge or improve his farm. Now the Herald 
believes that this crop can be established by the cul- 
tivation of Velvet Beans, and Cassava, and the conver- 
sion of them into beef and pork. After all is t^aid and 
done, meat is the great backbone of the North West, 
where more good money is made than anywhere else. 
Let the farmers and owners of lands demonstrate this 
fact, and they can sell every acre of their holdings to 
men that will push the stock business. We will have 
as many people as the land can hold. We will have a 
viTage with churches and school in every township. We 
will have a wealthy and powerful State. We can have 
it is our firm belief. " In addition to the importance 
of cassava from the foregoing points of view I have the 
pleasure to state that I directed the attention of the 
Secretary of State for India four years ago to the 
utilisation of new varieties of this plant, (the bitter 
and sweet varieties have been known in one or two 
localities of India for hundreds of years) among the 
inhabitants of famine-stricken regions there. I pointed 
out ihat the cassava is peculiarly drought resisting, 
flourishing as it does in arid regions, as well as in 
humid regions. Thus about 14 inches of rainfall 
secures abundant crops, whereas for rice cultivation 
from 50 to 60 inches are requisite. I also pointed out 
that some of the varieties when cooked as Ii ish pota- 
toes, rival that edible in point of palatabkiiess. My 
Ife.te.s on this subject have bi en p-,iblished in India. 
A few months ago, I received instmctions to furnish 
two Agricultural Departments in India with these 
special varieties for expt riniental cultivation. I have 
obtained these varieties fiom Colombia from sections 
of it, one thoupand miles apart. During my residence 
in that Republic, many years ago, I detected the 
merits of some of these varieties. Thus co incident 
with the intimataifn to hand of the great economic 
importance of one or two vaiieties of cafsava in Ame- 
rica, the acquisition of some 23 additional varieties is 
most opportune. Several of these are exceedingly rich 
in htaich. And I have just despatched to Bombay and 
Puiijab all il.o varieties. I am forming a nursery of 
them here, po ihut vast numbers of cuttings will be 
availiible eoon. I purpose es' ablishii^g a plot of each 
variety, with a view to determine their mtriishere. 1 
am also forwnrding immediately to the Agricultuial 
Department at Washiiigton the entire collection, also 
of the bitter cast-a^a which is much richer in starch 
tbtiD, the one under cultivfttion fo Florida. I am for- 
warding a supply for extensive propagation. Millions 
will soon be disseminated over Florida. Two varieties 
the " Bitter " and the " Sweet ' have been cultivated 
here fiom time immemorial; they are also spread 
throughout the West Indies. Starch is made from the 
former for household purposes ; from the latter cassava 
cakes are made and frequently (he roots are cooked and 
eaten by the peasantry though the variety is inferior. 
Small patches are grown everywhere by the peasantry. 
The total segregate may be 100 acres, consequently 
seed cuttings may be obtained for thousands of acres 
for immediate collivation. Doubtless twenty thousand 
tons of root could be produced within a \ ear. The cul- 
tivation is exceedingly simple; it thrives under the 
most diverse conditions of climate, on the Liguanea 
and other dry plains, on rocky hill sides, as well as on 
humid plains and hills wherever the foil is friable or 
gravelly. To obtain large crops it must be planted 
annually ; it may be planted twice n year in Jamaica ; 
the roots or tubers can be dried to keep for scmetime; 
thus the weight is greatly reduced for transport to he 
brought from distant parts to a factory. I have men- 
tioned that the factory at Orlando is in operation only 
four months a year. In Jamaica a factory can be kept 
going most of the year. It is impossible to exaggerate 
the importance of agreat oassave industry in Jamaica. 
Asa matter o( fact an acre of it is worth more than 
an acre of sugar cane. We have cheap labour com- 
pared with Florida. The land is sufficienly rich with- 
out artificial fertilisers. A peasant can cultivate a few 
acres, each yielding at least ten tons at per ton; 
this is |.50 per acre A factory here would confer im- 
mense benefit ou the ccmmunity. 
MANGOES, &c. 
Palm Beach is perhaps the most famous Winter 
Resort in the world. At one of Mr. Flagler's Hotels 
400 rooms are added annually. The tropical aspect 
of the grounds is extremely grand ; great avenues of 
palms, miles in length and forests of palms. The 
coconut plays an important part ; thousands cf them 
commonly 30 feet high are transplanted to com- 
mand effect. INIany other tropical plants are dis- 
played here. There are also hundreds of acres of 
pinenpples and the shed system is stronaly ndvocated. 
One of the finest plantations is that of Mr. Mattham, 
and he has several hybrid forms from Washington. 
Mango and Avocado trees ibound here ; Mango fruit 
is extremely popular ; hundreds of thousands are 
eagerly bought at about $7 per thousand. In the 
city of Key West the consumptiom is very large and 
its popularity is extending northwards, where in the 
near future it will doubtles become a staple fruit. My 
programme from Washington included a visit to a noted 
Mango grower. Professor Gale. He was delighted 
to show what he has done. Great Indian grafted trees 
as well as our no. 11 variety are propagated fat more 
successfully than is the case in the west Indies,— by 
budding, grafting, and inarching. It affords me great 
pleasure to renort that I obtained from the Director 
of Botanisal Gurdens at Washineton six plants of a 
new variety of Banana; it is described amongst bana- 
nas as " the best fruit of any." My attention will be 
directed to its propagation with the least possible delay 
EUPHORBIACEOUS PLANTS. 
The veteran Director of the Botanical Garden, Mr. 
Smith, whom I have known for 25 years, suggested to 
me on my way to Florida, to consider and form an 
opinion, on the practicability, of cultivating Euphor- 
biaceous plants iu this region. I therefore have the 
pleasure to submit a few remarks. In addition to the 
characteristic eancy soil of the east coast, another 
soill rich in humus abounds near Miami, vast areas of 
it, namely Everglade land. Heretofore nearly all ex- 
periments with tropical fruit cultivation have I een con- 
ducted on the sandy soil, where sub-tropiial fruits 
mingle with purely tropical fruits. In this region frost 
is piaotically unknown, coco-nuts thirty years old 
flourish here, large mango trees, avocado pears with 
large trunks, some of which must be over twenty yefira 
