by rasping. The starch also is separated
and used for food under the name of Brazilian arrowroot; and this, when
agglomerated into pellets on hot plates, forms the tapioca (q.v.) of
commerce. Cassava starch has a stellate hilum, which readily
distinguishes it under the microscope from other starches.

[Illustration: Cassava or Manioc (_Manihot utilissima_), less than half
nat. size.

1, An inflorescence showing at a a fruit which will presently separate
into five one-seeded parts, about 1/2 nat. size.

2, Pistil of female flower.

3, Stamens and fleshy disc of male flower.

4, Seed with its appendage (strophiole or caruncle).]

CASSEL, a town of northern France in the department of Nord, 34 m. N.W.
of Lille by rail. Pop. (1906) 1844. It stands on an isolated hill (515
ft.) from which portions of France, Belgium and England can be seen,
with 32 towns and 100 villages, including St Omer, Dunkirk, Ypres and
Ostend. The former hotel de ville (1634), the hotel de la Noble Cour,
once the seat of the jurisdiction of maritime Flanders, now the
town-hall, and the hotel des ducs d'Halluin are the historic buildings
of the town. Cassel has a communal college. Its industrial
establishments include tanneries, oil-mills, salt refineries and
breweries, and there is trade in cattle and butter.

The town, supposed to occupy the site of _Castellum Menapiorum_, was a
Roman station, as numerous remains of the Gallo-Roman period attest, and
an important centre of roads. It is frequently mentioned in the wars of
the middle ages, and was the scene of important battles in 1071, when
Robert, count of Flanders, vanquished his rival Arnulf; 1328, when
Philip of Valois defeated the Flemish; and 1677, when William of Orange
was defeated by Philip, duke of Orleans, brother of Louis XIV. General
D.R. Vandamme (1770-1830) was born in the town.

CASSEL, or KASSEL, a city of Germany, capital of the former electorate
of Hesse-Cassel, and, since its annexation by Prussia in 1866, capital
of the province of Hesse-Nassau. Pop. (1885) 64,083; (1905) 120,446. It
is pleasantly situated, in a hilly and well-wooded country, on both
sides of the river Fulda, over which a stone bridge leads to the lower
new town, 124 m. by rail N.N.E. from Frankfort-On-Main. The river is
navigable for barges, and railways connect the town with all parts of
Germany. The streets of the old town are narrow and crooked, and contain
many picturesque