FIGURE 1. An easy-to-build grading and packing table can be built on the farm.


aimed at moving bauxite from Surinam to St. Croix, where it
would be flocculated using cassava, into alumina. It would then
be moved in much smaller bulk to California for conversion to
aluminum. There were also tax advantages for the manufacturing
company.
 Harvey Aluminum provided strong and continuing support for
studies of cassava production on St. Croix. Worldwide collections
were made of cassava, and intensive studies of fertilizer require-
ments were undertaken in cooperation with Dr. George Samuels
of the University of Puerto Rico. A number of high yielding
species were isolated and propagation techniques worked out.
Regretfully the entire federal program was closed down and the
work ended. The collection was given to the Dominican
Republic.
 A third and rarely practiced non-traditional type of agriculture
has, as far as we know, not been practiced in the Caribbean, but
offers promise on the larger islands. This involves the combining
of a wild plant harvest for market, with the backyard production
of the same plant.
 This system was well worked out in Kentucky with the U.S.
Forest Service before its abandonment in 1971. During a five year
program, an effort was made to encourage the mountain
residents to grow certain plants in small backyard plantings to
combine with a wild plant harvest. This of course allowed for suf-
ficient quantity to make marketing economical. Growers were en-
couraged to work in community groups. The U.N. has urged that
the world's forests serve as more than sources of lumber for giant
corporations and recreation for urban dwellers. The understory is
a usable resource.
 The first step was to determine which plants were readily
marketable, and which plants were being harvested in the wild.
We focused on Lobelia inflata, the source of an alkaloid used in
substantial quantities by drug companies, in anti-smoking com-
pounds. We spent three years working out the germination and
cultivation requirements and the best methods of harvest to ob-
tain the highest quantity of the alkaloid. Seeds were then made
available to those who wanted to participate in the program. At
the same time, field studies were carried on to determine which
available wild plants were marketable and lists were prepared.
This field studies approach is much in use in India, but the con-
current cultivation of such plants in small backyard holdings has
not been established. We hope to accept an invitation to the
University of Delhi to work with them on such a program.
 Here a central collecting point is important. This can be left to
an individual in the community, someone who can bring to-
gether the dried materials and hold them until there is a quantity
sufficient to move to market. In the mountains of Kentucky, such
people accumulate a pick-up truck load and move it to market. In
other cases, dried materials of value, such as ginseng and
goldenseal, are mailed to the buyer if no collecting point exists.
 Another plant we worked on in Kentucky was Phytolacca,
which is canned or sold as a fresh green in the United States. In

VOL. XX-PROCEEDINGS of the CARIBBEAN FOOD CROPS SOCIETY


FIGURE 2. This easy-to-build dryer uses solar heat which can be supplemented
with sulfur burning in the pan, or a candle.


addition, our work showed the plant had definite mollusicidal
characteristics because of the high saponin content, and could be
used to kill sweet-water snails, the intermediate hosts for the
human protozoan ailment, bilharizia. A close relative of this
plant grows wild in the Caribbean. We have seen it in Puerto
Rico and the Dominican Republic. The possibility of producing a
bio-degradable molluscicide for control of bilhariza is worthy of
consideration. The berries are much used in the Appalachian as a
dye for weavings, and have been reported to be used to color
wine. This is not an advisable practice as the plants and parts are
considered toxic at maturity. The potential value of exporting
canned young leaves, grown as row crops, to the United States
merits some study. There is a good market, and supplies in the
States seem to be dwindling.
 The role of research here is to determine which plants are
marketable and how to grow them in backyard plantings, a farm-
ing approach which requires no great land area, no big capital in-
vestment and no high technology.
 On a recent project in the Dominican Republic, which we had
visited twice before over a period of twenty years, we recommend-
ed the establishment of a 'Solo' papaya program, along with a
potential drying system. This would allow any surplus crop, or
crop produced during low price periods, to be dried and held un-
til prices improved. A simple solar/candle drier can be used on
the farm. A sketch is included. Our second recommendation
called for establishment of an aromatic herbal tea project. There
are good sized oregano plantings in the Republic, so it is not an
entirely new area. The market for such aromatic herbal teas is ex-
cellent in the United States and in Europe, and again no complex
technology is needed. The whole package could be completed
locally, from growing to drying and packing. Our last recommen-


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