2 BULLETIN 612, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
The tuber system of the dasheen consists of a large rootstock, or 
corm, and a considerable number of smaller cormels, or tubers, which 
branch out from the corm on all sides. The central corm may weigh 
from 1 to 5 or even 6 pounds. The tubers resemble sweet potatoes 
in shape and range of size. Inasmuch as both the corms and the 
tubers are edible and both are included in the harvested crop, 
throughout this discussion the-term dasheen may be understood to 
refer to both. 
Many tests of the culinary possibilities of the dasheen have been 
made by the Department of Agriculture, by home-economics workers 
and teachers, and by housekeepers. The general conclusion drawn 
from this work was very favorable to the dasheen. In general it 
may be said that the dasheen, which in flavor and starch is like the 
white potato, can be cooked in much the same way as this well- 
Inown vegetable. The fiesh of the dasheen, when cooked, varies 
from a white or gray to a light-violet color and has a nutty fiavor, 
which is very generally relished by those who are accustomed to 
it. It seems drier than white potato and many seem to feel the need 
for a liberal amount of butter when eating it, either baked or boiled. 
A review of the hterature furnished no information in regard to 
the digestibility of this vegetable, and so it seemed desirable to de- 
termine to what extent it is utilized by the human body. A supply 
of dasheens of uniform quality, grown under known soil and climatic 
conditions, was secured for this purpose through the cooperation of 
the Bureau of Plant Industry from one of its experimental fields in 
Florida. 
NATURE OF THE DIET DURING THE TEST PERIODS. 
Since carbohydrates would be the chief nutrient introduced into 
the diet by the dasheen, in this study attention has centered on the 
digestibility of this constituent, though data are also reported for 
protein, fat, and ash. Accordingly, in selecting the basal ration, 
foods were chosen which contained a minimum amount of carbohy- 
drates, a simple basal diet consisting of milk, fruit, butter, and tea or 
coffee, if any liquid other than water was desired, being served in 
conjunction with the dasheen. The object was to have a diet simple in 
character and meeting the experimental requirements, yet sufficiently 
palatable to be eaten for three days (the length of the experimental 
periods) without being monotonous, and also varied enough to be 
comparable with an ordinary mixed diet. That experimental rations 
thus planned give satisfactory results has been the experience of this 
office. To insure the consumption of fairly large amounts of dasheen - 
the subjects were urged to eat freely of it, and at the same time they 
