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numerous existing races lias been undertaken. Generally, through 
the East are 2-4 races : but Tra van core is said to have as many as 20, 
and there are 40-50 in Brazil, with a still greater variety in the 
mountain-valleys of Colombia. In 1886 and 1889 several were 
introduced into the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, but what became of 
them is not to be ascertained. 
Many people, by confused thinking, blame the tapioca plant for 
the lalang wastes, instead of the system of land tenure which 
led to them. Tapioca has done right well for this country : and 
it is such a robust plant, that exhaustion of the soil must follow 
heavy cropping with it. Praise it for its robustness and protect the 
land for future generations. 
Golocasia antiquorum is quite a widely grown crop : it is a very 
important crop so near Europe as Madeira. It is also wild in the 
East : and from the inedible wild plant there runs a fairly complete 
series of transitions to the edible cultivated plant, of which there 
are several races, some specially suited for making into puddings, 
others used as bread is used, and others boiled as a vegetable. The 
Chinese call it Yu and rely very largely on it in their own country. 
The natives of India also use it freely. Therefore if produced here, 
it should hold a place in the market. 
Alocasia indica is used through India like Colocasia : it is 
cultivated sparingly in the Malay Peninsula, and apparently, rather 
more so in Java. Alocasia macrorrhiza is like a large edition of the 
last, more truly tropical in the climate which it prefers, and so a 
little more cultivated in these parts than A. indica. 
The Xanthosomas are American plants, not yet used as crops in 
the East, though promising as far as their garden cultivation 
goes. There are three well known — Xanthosoma sagitti folium, 
X. atropurpureum, and X. violaceum. The Bureau of Agriculture 
of the Philippine Islands is experimenting with them. 
A morphopha Uus campanula, tus, the elephant’s foot 3 r am, furnishes 
a food largely used in India, but not in the Malay Peninsula. An 
ally, A. Konjac, is cultivated by the Chinese in their own country. 
On Dioscoreas I have been busy experimenting for some time. 
I know that I have got better races than those which appear in the 
local markets. I know that they are easy to grow. But as with 
maize, cooking is the local obstacle to their general adoption. 
The Jerusalem artichoke can be raised easily in the Malay 
Peninsula, but not with full vigour in the plains. Cantley used a 
good expression as regards onion cultivation which applies to the 
artichoke too, namely, “ it is more or less worth cultivating.” 
Radishes develop too much pungency in the plains just as their 
relatives the rapes do in India. Carrots have been made to produce 
fleshy roots in the plains, but never to produce excellent ones. 
Beetroot has been got to do fairly well. 
