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•cost of planting is from $4.50 to $5.00 per acre. 
Apart from ordinary weeding, little or no subsequent 
cultivation is required. 
There are two distinct varieties of tapioca, white 
and red, but the former takes longer to mature and 
is very seldom grown, except on a small scale. 
Harvesting and Yield . — The first crop is ready for 
harvesting in fifteen to eighteen months from the 
date of planting and, under favourable conditions, 
should yield from one hundred and twenty to one 
hundred and fifty pikuls of roots per acre. The 
second crop, which is planted almost immediately 
after the first crop is removed, usually matures a 
little earlier, about thirteen to fifteen months after 
planting, and yields only eighty to one hundred 
pikuls of roots per acre. 
It is estimated that one hundred pikuls of roots will 
yield fifteen pikuls * of flour, but the percentage of 
flour decreases if the crop is over-ripe at the time 
of harvesting. In cases where the supply of mature 
roots is insufficient to keep the factory working, it 
is a common practice to harvest roots which are 
not fully ripe and which would normally be allowed 
to grow for a further two months. The yield of 
root in such cases is naturally smaller than when 
the plant is allowed to reach maturity. About one 
hundred pikuls per day are required to keep a factory 
of the usual size in regular work. 
Manufacture .— The processes of manufacture of the 
commercial products are fairly simple. The roots 
are first passed through a washing machine, very 
large roots being cut in pieces beforehand. They 
are then transferred automatically to a hopper 
leading to the pulping machine which contains 
