AMYLUM MARANTtE. 



G 





Jamaica and other West India Islands, of Brazil, Sierra Leone, and the 

 East Indies, are quoted in price-currents, at least occasionally. Of these 

 the Bermuda enjoys the highest reputation and commands by far the 

 highest price ; but its good quality is shared by the arrowroot of other 

 localities, from "which, when equally pure, it can in noAvise be dis- 

 tinguished. Greenish/ however, points out that in Natal arrowroot the 

 layers (or laminge) are more obvious than in other A^arieties, although it 

 appears that the former is also produced by Maranta. 



Ihe importations of arrowroot into the United Kingdom during the 

 year 1870 amounted to 21,770 cwt., value £33,063. Of this quantity 

 the island of St. Vincent in the West Indies furnished nearly 17,000 

 cwt., and the colony of Natal about 3000 cwt. The exports from St. 

 Vincent in 1874 were 2,608,100 lb., those of the Bermudas in 1876 only 

 45,520 tb.^ The shipments from the colony of Natal during the j^ears 

 1866 to 187G varied from 1,076 cwt. in 1873 to 4,305 cwt. in. 1867.' 



Uses — Arrowroot boiled with water or milk is a much-valued food 

 lu the sick-room. It is also an agreeable article of diet in the form of 

 pudding or blancmange. 



Adulteration— Other starches than that of Marcmta are occasionally 

 sold under the name oi Arroivroot. Their recognition is only possible 

 by the aid of the microscone. 



Substitutes for Arrowroot. 



Potato Starch — This substance, known in trade 



as 



Potato Flour, is made from the tubers of tlie potato {Sdanum tube- 

 rosum L.) by a process analogous to that followed in the preparation 

 of arrowroot. -------- .■..,-. 



It has the following characters : 



examined under the 



microscope, the granules are seen to be chiefly of two sorts, the first 

 small and spherical, the second of much larger size, often 100 mkm. in 

 length, having an irregularly circular, oval or egg-shaped outline, finely 

 marked with concentric rings round a minute inconspicuous hilum. 

 When heated in water, the grains swell considerably even at 60^ 0. 

 Hydrochloric acid, sp. gr. I'OG, dissolves them at 40° quickly and 

 ahnost completely, the granules being no longer deposited, as in the 

 case of arrowroot similarly treated. The mixture of arrowroot and 

 ydi'ochloric acid is inodorous, but that of potato starch has a peculiar 

 tliough not powerful odour. 



Canna Starch, Tous-les-3Ioh,'- Toulema, Tolordtinc—k species of 



^anna is cultivated in the West India Islands, especially St. Kitts, for 

 the sake of a peculiar starch which, since about the year 18SC, has 

 been extracted from its rhizomes by a process similar to that adopted 

 "1 making arrowroot. The specific name of the plant is still undcter- 



\^earhooh of Pharm. (1875) 529. 

 "i-apers relating to H.M. Colonial Pos- 



tn K T-TT^^P'^'^ts ^or 1875-76. rresente.1 

 ^« ooth Houses of Parliament, July 1877. 



aJl^*M '^*- ^^^^^- ^"^r t^ie several Colonial 

 fln^ , ..^' Possessions of the United King- 

 ^lom Uth number, 1878. p. 60. 

 Toin^^ ^oinmonly stated that the name 

 ■^'les-mois was dveii in conseouence of 



the plaut flowering all the year round. But 

 this explanation appears improbable : no 

 such name is mentioned by llochefort, 

 Aublet, or Desconrtik, who all describe 

 the BaVmer or Canna. It seems more 

 likely that the term is the result of an 

 attempt to confer a meaning on an ancient 

 name— perhaps Toidoula, which is one of 

 the Carib designations for Canna and 

 Calathea. 



