CASSAVA. 
167 
10. '^Tilling the soil loosens it to some depth, 
so that the rain sinks in, and therefore does not 
wash away the top soil as much as it does when 
the ground below is quite hard. Besides, when 
the air and water get into the soil they make 
fresh plant-food from it." 
11. The boys could not stay to see the men plant 
out the yams, for the next week they had to re- 
turn home. They were sorry to leave their uncle, 
who had taken so much trouble to teach them 
and to make them happy, and they hoped they 
might visit him at Annotto Bay again the next 
year. 
CASSAVA. -^I. 
1. If you have ever been in a market you must 
have seen the great heaps of vegetables that are 
taken there to be sold. Amongst them are 
cocoes and yams, sweet potatoes and cassava; 
all of which were once growing in the darkness 
of the soil. They do not look as tempting as the 
pretty, juicy fruits which have grown in the sun's 
light and heat, but they are even more useful 
than those. 
2. I dare say you like to eat cassava cakes, 
but did you ever think how much trouble some 
one must have taken to prepare them, and how 
