November i, 1882.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



44? 



THE TEACHING OF FORESTRY. 



LECTUEE BY COI.ONKL G. F. PEARSON. 



As a proof of what has been already effected iu India 

 by the forest officers educated iu the Continental schools, 

 I may mention that in that country there are at the 

 present date 9,S"-!f),000 acres of reserved forests, and 

 2,493,000 of wbicli are protected from fire, as well as cattle 

 and sheep grazing, and consequently are now in a condition 

 to reproduce themselves under the natural system ; and as 

 perhaps, the most convincing proof, from a practical point 

 of view, of the value of the system, I may add that the 

 forest revenue of India, which in 1870 was only £357,030, 

 with a net revenue of £52,000, iu 18S0 reached £545,000, 

 with a net revenue of £215,000 — that is to say, that the 

 revenue had increased 56 per cent, while the charges had 

 only inci-eased 8 per cent. 



In South Australia, a serious commencement has been 

 made in the right direction also. By an Act passed in 

 1873, the sum of £2 per aero is paid to landowners, in 

 certain districts of the colony, to form plantations of trees. 

 In 1875, a Forest Board was constituted as certain districts 

 of the colony were formally defined as forest reserves. 

 In 1878, a Forest Act was passed and a Conservator of 

 Forests. (Mr. Brown) was appointed. Last year about a 

 quarter of a million trees were planted out, and the forest 

 revenue amounted to £6.517, of which £1,380 was for timber 

 sold, against an expenditure of £6,200. 



If, then, so much has been done by the Indian and Colo- 

 nial Governments to secure the future of their forests, can 

 nothing be accomplished at the head-quarters of the Empire ? 

 This is the question now before us, and I trust that it may 

 be answered by instituting a com'se of instruction which 

 may eventually develop iuto a forest school for Great 

 Britian. — Societi/ of Arts Journal. 



ARROWROOT MANUFACTURE IN QUEENSLAND.* 



The maclunery used for the manufacture of arrowroot 

 is simple in the extreme, and is chiefly manufactured on 

 the place, the shafts, pulleys and engine work being, of 

 coiurse, foundry made. The first process shown was the 

 roots being tipped by two boys into a long trough, through 

 tho length of which a shaft slowly revolved, and by 

 means of wooden projecting pegs the dirty roots were 

 stirred up and so cleaned, there being a constant stream 

 of water running through the trough. These revolving 

 pegs have a screw pitch, so that the roots are gradually 

 moved towards the far end of the trough, where they 

 are caught up by a sort of bucket pump which elevates 

 them some 12 feet and drops them regularly iuto a hop- 

 per. As they fall to the bottom of this they meet the 

 grater, which is a drum of perforated galvanised iron driven 

 at great velocity. A small stream of water pours into this 

 all the time, and the roots are quickly grated up iuto a 

 brown coloured pulp. This mass of fibre and pulp falls 

 into a cylinder of perforated iron, about 9 feet long and 

 2 feet in diameter ; through the length of this nms an 

 axle on which are two beaters Uke the drum of a thresh- 

 ing machine ; these smash up the fibrous pulp, exposing 

 it to the action of the water, so as to enable all the 

 starch and fine pulp to be washed out and squeezed through 

 the perforations of the cylinder, while from the one end 

 is discharged a constant stream of the dirty looking fibrous 

 refuse. A stranger looking at the process at this stage 

 woidd think it utterly impossible that the white arrowi-oot 

 of commerce could be the result of such an unpromising 

 material ; however, water works wonders, and an abuudance 

 of piu'e, soft water is essential for the succcssfid manu- 

 facture of arrowi'oot. The finer pulp, as squeezed through 

 the perforations of this cylinder, is received in a precisely 

 similar one below ; here again the mass, now only pulp, 

 is beat up ; but the perforations aroimd this second drum 

 being very small, only the starch and dirty looking water 

 passes through, the pulp being again discharged from the 

 cloaca at the end. The stream of water and starch pour- 

 ing froi.'. these cylinders is received in troughing, ex- 

 tending for 100 feet around tho shed, and, as it runs 

 along, the starch, being heavier than the water, all sinks 

 to the bottom and the water runs away. So far the work 



* From the QutenslaiuUr. Reprinted from the Weekly 

 Drutj Nen'h August 25, I8S2. 

 57 



goes on automatically, no one but the two boys throwing 

 in the roots troubling themselves about it. But towards 

 the end of the day the stream of water is stopped, and 

 the arrowroot stiirch scraped up out of the trough, where 

 it has accumulated in a layer some inches in thickness, 

 and is placed in large vats or tubs, all ranged iu regular 

 rows. Before being put into these tubs it is passed through 

 fine muslin sieves, au<l at the same time another stream 

 of water is turued on. These fine sieves effectually clear 

 it of .any foreign matter, and it settles by the morning 

 at the bottom of the vats, clean and white as snow. The 

 water is drained from it, and the starch put into a cen- 

 trifugal machine exactly simUar to that what is used for 

 sugar ; this soon /orces out the surplus water, but perfect 

 dryness is essential to its keeping qualities, so it is now 

 carried to the drying room, which is some 60 feet long 

 by 12 feet wide. Round the whole length of this rmis 

 a flue heated by a special furnace, and over this are shelves 

 of galvanized wire netting ; on this netting is placed calico, 

 and on this is spread out the starch. In this hothouse 

 the moisture is quickly evaporated, and the arrowroot 

 becomes crisp and grain-like. On fine days it is spread 

 out in the sun on similar wire stages. All operations are 

 now finished, and the flour is stowed away in bins in 

 the storehouse, and there made up into the packets usu- 

 ally seen in the shops. For this work-women are employed, 

 and smart hands can earn as much at this employment 

 as their husbands are doing at the rougher work of the 

 mill. — Pharmaceutical Jonrrud. 



THE SQUiVRE BAMBOO. 



One of the chastest and most elegant ornaments provided 

 by Chinese ingenuity for the library or study, consists 

 of bamboo boards, the groimd being elaborately carved in 

 fretwork, and inscribed with characters, generally quotations 

 from the classics, cut from the wood of the same plant. 

 They are to be obtained from the Chinese in Shanghai, 

 and are valuable by reason of the peculiar character of 

 the material from which they are made. Bamboos are 

 divided into' a large number of species, and well repay the 

 study of those who take an interest iu botanical researches. 

 There is one sort of a remarkably unique character, called 

 the " square " bamboo, specimens of which have, we uuder- 

 stand, been forwarded by Dr. Macgowan at Wenchou to the 

 United States Consul General at this port, toj,ethi;r with a 

 sample of the ornament above described, the device in 

 this instance, however, consisting of a representation of 

 the bamboo itself. Some of the plants received from the 

 Doctor are destined for the Park at Wan Francisco, while 

 others of the same nature are intended for the Public 

 Gardeu at Shanghai. The following description of this 

 novel-shaped product of the vegetable kingdou will, we 

 think, be found of interest by our r..-aders. 



There is no plant except cereals proper which has received 

 so much attention as this graceful grass. Early Chinese 

 botauists enumerate seventy varieties of tho Viaraboo, but 

 if quest were now made in local gazetteers, that number 

 woidd be found greatly augmented. They describe the bam- 

 boo as dicecious. Pre-eminence is assigned to the square 

 variety of this most useful as well as ornamental plant, 

 which has been a favourite in Imperial gardens whenever 

 its acclimitisation has been effected in the North. The 

 Emperor Kao Tsu once inquired of his attendants who 

 were planting bamboos, concerning the various kinds. In 

 reply he was informed respecting several remarkable species. 

 Ohokiaug in particular furnished one that was an extra- 

 ordinary ciu-iosity, in that it was square, and for that 

 quality and its perfect uprightness was much esteemed 

 by officers and scholars. They also told hiri that it was 

 used for many purposes of decoration and utility, including, 

 among others, that of being made into ink-slabs. Subse- 

 quently specimens were obtained, polished, and sent to 

 his Jlajesty who thereon signified his respect for the article 

 by rubbing ink with his own hand on the inkstand, and 

 inditing an essay on the curiosity. In 650 A. D, the reigning 

 Emperor sent "a eunuch to Chekiang to obtain specimens 

 for the Imperial Park. Besides being furnished from scat- 

 tered portions of this province, it is found in Hoiian, 

 Szechuen, Yunn.an, and Hunan ; in the latter province it 

 appears to preseut its peculiar characteristic in a marked 

 degree, being as square, with corners, and as well define<l 



