Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/480

446&#93; 446] CAS closely shut, and exposed to a red beat, for several boars. Thus, the surface of the iron, to a certain h, is converted into steel, to which a proper degree of hardness may be given, by a sudden immer- sion of the heated pieces into a cold fluid. — See Iron. CASSAVA, or latropha Maul- hot, L. a native shrub of South America, eminently deserving to be transplanted to our climate ; for it is asserted that one acre of its roots produces a quantity of food equal to that usually obtained from six acres of seed-corn. This shrub grows from four to seven feet high, is knotted, covered with an ash - coloured bark, and pithy within : its broad palmated leaves, together with its white and rose- coloured blossoms, render it a very beautiful plant. According to M. Buunelli, it may be propagated by seed, but more expeditiously by .stickers : when these are planted In a deep, rich, and light soil, they vegetate with surprizing luxuri- ance, and produce in the course of one year, a white, soft, and farina- ceous root, from one to two feet in length, and from live to six inches in circumference. The very extensive use of the cassava, as an article of food in South America, is a striking in- stance of human ingenuity success- fully directed to prepare whole- some nutriment from such vege- tables as, in their natural state, are very active poisons. A mild, nu- tritions food is obtained from these mors in the following manner : Immediately after being gathered, ihey are washed and stripped of tl:r ir thick rind by means of a knife : the heart, a pulpy mass, either white or yellowish, is re- peatedly passed between, cylinders, CAS and turned by mill-work, till ail the juice is expressed. The dry pulp, being thus freed from the poisonous juice, is a compound of. farina and vegetable fibre, and re- quires no farther preparation than to be thoroughly dried, over a very slow fire. In this state, it will keep for several months in close vessels ; and, when wanted, it may be formed into cakes, by kneading up with water, and baking it ; or into pottage, by boiling it with water, and a little Cayenne pepper. The pure farina is the tapioca of the shops : it is separated from the fibrous part, b J ; taking a handful of the pulp, after the juice is extracted, and working it in the hand, till a thick white e'eam appears on the surface this being scraped off and washed in water, gradually subsides to the bottom, and after pouring off the liquor, the remaining moisture is dissipated over a slow fire, con- stantly stirring the farina, so that at length it concretes into grams, about the size of sago, which be- come hard by keeping. This :<; the purest and most nutritive part of the pulp, and forms a very wholesome and palatable food, which, if preserved in a dry place, maybe kept for any length of time. Byheaping together the cassava- cakes, till they begin to heat and become mouldy, and then infusing them in water, to induce a very rapid fermentation, the Indiana prepare a very sharp and disagree- able, but intoxicating liquor, which will not keep longer than a day, without spoiling. Although this liquor, previous to distillation, has a sweet and mild taste, yet, when drunk in any quantity, it occa- sions excessive swelling of the body, convulsions, and death. — Accord-