Chap. XXL 
MANIOC THE CHIEF PKODUCT, 
425 
covered with low trees, bushes, and fine pasturage. In the latter, 
we were pleased to see our old acquaintances the gaudy gladiolus, 
Amaryllis toxicaria, hymanthus, and other bulbs in as flourishing 
a condition as at the Cape. 
It is surprising that so little has been done in the way of 
agriculture in Angola. Eaising wheat by means of irrigation has 
never been tried; no plough is ever used; and the only instru¬ 
ment is the native hoe, in the hands of slaves. The chief object 
of agriculture is the manioc, which does not contain nutriment 
sufficient to give proper stamina to the people. The half-caste 
Portuguese have not so much energy as their fathers. They 
subsist clnefly on the manioc, and, as that can be eaten either 
raw, roasted, or boiled, as it comes from the ground; or fermented 
in water, and then roasted or dried after fermentation, and baked 
or pounded into fine meal; or rasped into meal and cooked as 
farina; or made into confectionery with butter and sugar, it 
does not so soon paU upon the palate as one might imagine, when 
told that it constitutes their principal food. The leaves boiled 
make an excellent vegetable for the table; and, when eaten by 
goats, their milk is much increased. The wood is a good fuel, 
and yields a large quantity of potash. If planted in a dry soil, 
it takes two years to come to perfection, requning, during that 
time, one weeding only. It bears drought well, and never shrivels 
up, like other plants, when deprived of rain. When planted in 
low alluvial sods, and either well supplied with rain or annually 
flooded, twelve, or even ten months, are sufficient to bring it 
to maturity. The root rasped while raw, placed upon a cloth, 
and rubbed with the hands while water is poured upon it, parts 
witli its starchy glutinous matter, and this, when it settles at the 
bottom of the vessel, and the water poured off, is placed in the sun 
till nearly dry, to form tapioca. The process of drying is com¬ 
pleted on an iron plate over a slow fire, the mass beiug stirred 
meanwhile with a stick, and when quite dry it appears aggluti¬ 
nated iuto little globules, and is in the form we see the tapioca of 
commerce. This is never eaten by weevils, and so little labour is 
required in its cultivation, that on the spot it is extremely cheap. 
Throughout the iaterior parts of Angola, fine manioc-meal, which 
could with ease have been converted either into superior starch or 
tapioca, is commonly sold at the rate of about ten pounds for a 
