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extinct, and the arrow-voot never seen out of the island, except in the 

 hands of the curious. From my inquiries, 1 have learned that, many 

 years ago, it was customary to crop the land only every other year, 

 allowing it to remain follow in the intervening period ; and that in the 

 fallow fields leave was given to the inhabitants to dig for the roots. 

 This custom has been abandoned, and the usual system of rotation of 

 crops introduced. The common, too, of late years, has been much 

 infringed upon by the government, for public purposes, and also by 

 speculators, for quarrying for stone. These causes have very much 

 interfered with its manufacture ; so much so, indeed, that a few years 

 since, wishing to procure a sample for a friend, to illustrate a lecture 

 on dietetic articles, I found it very difficult to obtain even half a 

 pound of it. Within the last week I have ascertained that one old 

 woman is the only person who now prepares it ; and she gives as her 

 reason for doing so, that ' poor folks, now-a-day, are glad to turn an 

 honest penny any how.' At the present time, the Arum is not very 

 plentiful in the island ; although there is still a vast extent of land 

 that will never admit of cultivation, on account of its stony character, 

 which, doubtless, produces most of the small quantity now obtained. 

 With the exception of the old woman previously mentioned, liberty 

 is not now obtained to dig in the cultivated fields and pastures. The 

 Arum maculatum is commonly called aiTow-root, or starch-root ; but 

 the vulgar names, ' cows and calves' and ' lords and ladies,' are also 

 known, though not so frequently used. The proper season for col- 

 lecting the corms is when the plant has perfected its growth. This is 

 generally in the months of May and June. Those which are collected 

 in May yield a much less proportion of starch than those collected 

 later. The fresh corm is extremely acrid, producing a most disagree- 

 able tingling and pricking sensation in the mouth, when chewed. 

 This acridity, I found, was not completely removed by toasting. 

 Lindley states that the corms are edible, when deprived of this acri- 

 dity by boiling ; but I have never known them so used. Their acri- 

 dity renders it necessary to bruise the corms in a stone mortar, and to 

 avoid, as much as possible, handling them until after they have been 

 washed. The process now employed for the separation of the fecula 

 is the same as that described by Mrs. Gibbs. The corms yield, 

 according to Mrs. Gibbs, 4 fts. of fecula to the peck. My informant 

 tells me she obtains, on an average, 3 fts. from a peck of corms ; 

 more in June, less in May. During the whole season, she considers 

 three dozen fts. to be a good average quantity to obtain ; and for 

 this she asks Is. Ad. per ft. It is highly valued by the Portlandcrs, 



