IN this chapter we will take some miscellaneous appliances of force both in Art and Nature.
In the accompanying illustration is shown the Cassava Press of Southern America, a most effective and simple instrument for extracting the juices of the root. These juices are poisonous when raw, but, when properly boiled and cooked, they make an excellent sauce.
The press in question is an elastic tube made of flat strips of cane woven together exactly like the “Siamese Link,” which will be presently described. The cassava root, after having been scraped until it resembles horseradish, is forced into the press until it can hold no more. The result is, that the tube is shortened and thickened, being widest in the middle.
It is then hung by its upper loop to the horizontal beam of a hut. A long pole is passed through the lower loop, the short end is placed under a projecting peg on the upright post of the house, and a heavy weight attached to the longer end. A powerful leverage is thus obtained, the tube is forcibly shortened, and the juice exudes through the apertures of the woven cane.
When it begins to run slowly, a woman seats herself at the end of the pole, so as to increase its weight. I must mention here that in the illustration the press is too near the middle of the pole. This is because the exigences of our page do not admit of the requisite length. But if the reader will kindly assume the end to which the stone is attached to be three or four times longer, he will have an idea of the great power which is exerted upon the cassava.
On the left hand of the illustration is the same cassava press as seen when empty, and both figures, as well as that of the pot for receiving the juice, are taken from specimens in my collection.
On the right hand of the following illustration is the Siamese Link, which caused such a sensation when it first came out.
A finger is inserted at each end, and, when the owner attempts to withdraw them, the Link contracts, and the harder the pull, the tighter is the hold. If the fourth instead of the first finger be employed, the hold of the Link is exceedingly strong.
The only mode of release is by pushing the fingers together, when the Link will relax. It should then be held by the remaining fingers of one hand, so that it shall not contract again, and the finger of the other hand comes out at once.