COMMON TAPIOCA FLOUR. 
By A. L. DE Morn ay. 
The smaller Chinese growers, not having the sufficient capital 
to erect steam machinery to work off their crops, discovered a 
method some thirteen years ago, of producing an inferior Tapioca 
flour, or more correctly speaking meal, by means of rotting the 
tubers in water instead of disintegration, and thus avoiding the 
necessity of motive power, 
ft may interest some of your readers — especially those desirous 
of introducing a catch crop to work as a concomitant of the per- 
manent cultivation of their Estates — to have a description of the 
process, which is as follows : — 
A hole or shallow well ol suitable size in proportion to the extent 
of crop to be treated, is dug in the ground at a spot of sufficiently 
low level to ensure the water remaining stagnant and not draining 
away. The hole is then charged full of unwashed tubers, care 
being taken that all are entirely submerged, and there left for 4 to 
7 days. The time they take to rot depends to some extent on the 
weather (a low temperature retarding putrefaction) and partly on 
the degree of foulness the water may have reached according to 
the length of time the same hole may have been previously em- 
ployed for the purpose. A new hole with pure Water, taking a 
considerably longer time to accomplish putrefaction. 
When it is found that decomposition is sufficiently advanced to 
mash the tubers to a pulp between the hand, they are removed 
from the hole and placed in a large tub into which a man enters 
and treads them out to as fine a pulp as possible. 
A basket of about \ in. mesh is placed in a separate tub, and the 
pulp is poured into this and stirred till the greater part passes 
through the meshes of the basket, leaving only the woodv and 
imperfectly rotted portions of the root. Water is frequently poured 
on the pulp to assist in straining the basket. When the desired 
quantity of pulp has thus been treated, the basket is withdrawn 
and the pulp left for 24 hours to precipitate. When it has settled, 
as well as its fibrous nature will permit of, the water is baled out 
of the tub and skimmed off the flour as much as possible, 
Ordinary gunnies (sacks) are then tied to sticks driven into the 
ground in a triangular position, and the pulpy mass removed from 
the tub and thrown into the sacks, where it is left to drain. In this 
way the water drains out of the pulp, and becomes of sufficient 
consistency to be removed from the sacks, separated into pieces, 
and spread over a cement space to dry in the sun. Whilst drying! 
the lumps are broken smaller, and when comparatively dry, are trod- 
den out and finally sifted through bamboo sieves of about ^ in. 
mesh, and packed for the market. 
The proportion of so called “ Flour” obtainable from the tuber 
may be calculated at 27 to 32 %. 
A. L. De MORNAY. 
