In Natal, arrowroot-culture is carried on chiefly in the counties of Durban, Victoria, and Tugela ; also in Cape Colony. The land, preferably old, is well ploughed and broken up at the commencement of the rains ; sets taken from old stools are planted thickly in a simple plough furrow, and covered with earth turned out of a parallel furrow. The plant grown is the same as in the W. Indies, and the modo of preparation is practically identical. The area occupied by arrowroot in Natal was 226 acres in 1864, and 386 in 1870. The yield varies much : 61 acres in Tugela gave 1220 cwt.; 66 in Victoria, 639 ; 98 in Durban, 488. The exports were 6366 cwt. in 1859, 1206 in 1874.
The same plant is considerably cultivated in India, but much of the E. Indian arrowroot is afforded by another genus. In the S.-W. districts, notably Travancore, Cochin, and Canara, Curcuma angustifolia, C. leucorrhiza, and perhaps some other species, are extensively grown, and their starch, known as tihor or tikhar, is prepared by rude processes.
Maranta nobilis seems to he the kind chiefly cultivated in New South Wales. Queensland grows not only H. arundinacea and C. edulis, but also 3 species of Manihot (see Tapioca, p. 1828). The area occupied by arrowroots of all kinds in Australia in 1879 was :—Queensland, 132 acres ; New South Wales, 27 acres (produced 47,184 1h.); Victoria, 4 acres (produced 67 cwt.). Queensland in 1869 exported 26,368 lb., value 548/.
Several species of Canna are cultivated. for their starch, that produced in St. Kitts being known as tous-les-mois (a corruption of toulema, tolomane or touloula). The species have not been accurately determined, hut it would appear that C. edulis [indica] is the one mainly or exclusively raised in the W. Indies, vvhile others mentioned are C. Achiras, a native of Peru, C. flaccida, of Carolina, and C. glauca and C. coccinea. The island of St. Kitts (W. Indies) exported 51,873 lb. of this arrowroot in 1876. Some is also produced in Australia (from C. edulis), the plants being set in ordinary ploughed land, and harvested in April. Tous-les-mois, when hoiled with 20 times its weight of water, yields a more tenacious jelly than the Haranta-starch.
Tahiti or South Sea arrowroot is obtained from tbe tuberous root of tbe pia of Tahiti (Tacca pinnatifida), a plant affording over 30 per cent. of starch, also said to occur in China, Cochin China, the Moluccas, Zanzibar, 80. The area occupied by tbe culture of this plant in Fiji in
1879 was 2215 acres. Other species met with in India, Madagascar, Guinea, and Guiana, might be utilized in a like manner. The starch of T. involucrata is extracted on the W. ooast of Africa.
Arrowroot is also locally obtained and mind from various species of Z ',mkt • in Florida, uuder the name of boonti, frorn Z. integrifolia and Z. [Encephalartos] spiralis ; in Queensland and W. Australia, from another species, which contains 30 per cent. of starch resembling arrowroot in feel and taste. Portland arrowroot, not now to be met with in commerce, was formerly prepared from the roots of Arum maculatum, in tho island of Portland. Small quantities of starch are also obtained from A. italicum in Italy. The starch of the root of Al itrcsmeria Ligtu and other apecies is used as arrowroot in Chili.
Arrowroot is a brilliantly white, insipid, odourless powder, crackling under pressure in the hand, of sp. gr. 1.565 aft,er drying at TOO° (212° F.). The various kinds may be distinguished by the microscope by the differences in the size and form of the granules. The chief commercial kinds and their values are :—Bermuda, Is.-1s. 6d. a lb.; St. Vincent, 2f-71c1. ; E. India, lt-20.; Natal, 4-7(1. The imports of arrowroot into the United Kingdom in 1870 were 21,770 cwt., value 33,0631. ; the value in 1875 wan 56,1431. ; there are no returns since. The domestic consumption of arrowroot is sufficiently familiar.
Buckwheat-starch.—A few English firms prepare atarch from buckwheat (Polygonum fagopyrum). It is a fine powder of nearly pure-white colour. (See Wheat-starch, pp. 1828-9.) Greanheart-starch.—The starch obtained from the seeds of the greenheart or bibiri tree of British Guiana (Nectandra Rodimi [leucantha], to the extent of 50 per cent. and upwards, is locally used as food in times of scarcity. It has a bitter flavour and pale-brown colour, and is said to possum febrifuge and tonic properties.
Horse-chestnut starch.—The fruit of tho horse-chestnut (see Nuts—Chestnut, pp. 1352-3) eontaina 16-36 per cent. of starch, which is readily extracted by the methods that are adopted for corn-starch. The preparation of the article is largely carried on i it S. France, 100 lb. dry starch being obtained on an industrial wale from 240-230 lb. of the " nuts." The bitterness is removed by treating with water containing carbonate of soda.