34 



LENTILS, ARROWROOT 



kind, which have a dark skin, but within are of a bright-red 

 colour. There is another variety which has a grey skin and 

 is yellow inside. 



/They are the seeds of the Lens esculenta, a slender little 

 plant resembling our vetch. It grows about a foot high, and 

 has pinnate leaves ending in a long curling tendril. The 



flowers are pale blue, in form 

 like those of a pea. The pods, 

 which are about an inch long, 

 contain usually two dark- 

 looking seeds. 



As a food lentils are ex- 

 ceedingly nutritious, though 

 not very digestible. 



The plant requires only a 

 moderate amount of heat and 

 will grow in a fairly poor soil. 

 Sources of Supply. British 

 India (especially the Central 

 Provinces and Madras) is at 

 present our chief source of 

 supply. Here they are grown 

 as a winter crop and often 

 follow rice. 



Large quantities are also 

 grown as a winter crop in 

 Egypt, and considering the 

 modest needs of the plant, it would seem that it could be 

 grown in many other parts of the empire. 



ARROWROOT is a white powdery substance which when 

 rubbed between the fingers produces a curious crackling noise. 

 It is obtained from the tubers of the Maranta arundinaceae, 

 a plant which grows from two to three feet high, and has long 

 pale -green leaves and yellow flowers. 



It is a native of the West Indies (where it is grown exten- 

 sively, especially in St. Vincent, the Bermudas, and Jamaica), 



ARROWROOT 



