118 
Manioc,  or  Tapioca  Plant. 
f  Am.  Joint.  Phajuu. 
\    Mar.  1,  1873. 
then  washed  ;  next  they  are  rasped  upon  a  wooden  plank  armed  with 
email  iron  teeth,  and  the  pulp  is  left  twenty-four  hours,  by  which  time 
a  slight  fermentation  is  set  up.  It  is  then  placed  in  a  long,  flexible 
basket,  called  a  couleuvre,  usually  made  of  plaited  rushes.  The  cou- 
leuvre  is  suspended  by  a  handle  at  its  open  end,  and  a  heavy  weight 
is  attached  to  the  other  end,  by  which  means  the  sides  are  compressed 
together,  and  a  slightly  opaline  aqueous  juice,  which  is  highly  poison- 
ous, is  caused  to  ooze  through  the  plaits.  The  pressed  meal  is  then 
taken  out  and  exposed  for  some  time  over  a  fire ;  afterwards  pounded, 
coarsely  sifted  and  roasted  on  a  brass  plate  over  a  fire  to  upwards  of 
100°  C,  care  being  taken  by  constant  renewals  to  prevent  scorching. 
Sometimes  during  the  roasting  it  is  stirred  to  and  fro  with  a  small 
rake  of  wood  or  metal ;  it  is  then  formed  into  small  hard  grains,  hav- 
ing the  appearance  of  semolina,  which  are  called  couac.  When  cas- 
sava is  to  be  prepared,  the  meal  is  more  carefully  pounded  and  better 
sifted.  It  is  then  spread  circularly  upon  the  plate,  pressed  slightly 
with  a  pallet  knife  to  cause  it  to  aggregate  and  turned  two  or  three 
times  during  the  roasting.  In  both  operations  there  is  complete  cook- 
ing and  desiccation  effected,  which  enables  it  to  be  kept  an  almost  in- 
definite time.  The  aggregation  of  the  meal  is  caused,  not  by  the  ad- 
dition of  water,  but  by  the  action  of  heat,  softening  and  agglutinating 
some  of  the  particles  of  starch. 
M.  Sagot  considers  the  manioc  to  be  healthy  food,  although  of 
small  nutritive  value.  Dr.  Schier  estimates  it  to  contain  0*18  per 
cent,  of  nitrogen,  but  little  phosphorus,  and  a  very  small  quantity  of 
fatty  matter.  The  indigenous  tribes,  who  make  it  the  basis  of  their 
food,  supplement  it  with  a  good  quantity  of  fish  and  meat. 
In  the  preparation  of  tapioca,  the  root  is  rasped  and  diluted  with 
water,  in  which  it  is  well  worked  up ;  the  grosser  parts  are  removed 
and  the  finer  allowed  to  be  deposited  by  subsidence  in  the  water.  In 
this  form  it  is  imported  into  this  country  in  considerable  quantities  as 
Brazilian  arrow-root.  The  tapioca  is  produced  by  roasting  this  starch 
on  metal  plates,  stirring  it  the  while  with  an  iron  rod  ;  the  starch 
grains  burst,  some  of  the  starch  is  converted  into  dextrin,  and  the 
whole  agglomerates  into  small  irregular  masses. 
In  Demerara,  the  manioc  juice,  deprived  by  boiling  of  its  injurious 
properties,  is  used  under  the  name  of  cassareep,  as  a  sauce  for  the 
table.  Besides  this,  the  Indians  use  the  root  of  the  manioc  to  pre- 
pare fermented  drinks,  which,  however,  would  hardly  suit  European 
tastes. 
