t 478 ] 



alluvial jungle land, or river or -creek banks suit this plant 

 best. It is also grown in open countries on rich deep soils. 

 It prefers a more sandy soil than the ordinary arrow-root 

 Maranta arundinacea. r \ he bulbs are sold in Queensland 

 for 2. los. per ton and the arrow-root extracted from it sells 

 at about gd. a Ib. Ordinary arrow-root prefers shade, and the 

 bulbs of this are planted about a foot apart in the lines and 

 \\ ft. from line to line. In growing Canna edulis, burn the 

 jungle, make hole 6 or 7 ft. apart in rows and 4^ ft. from each 

 other in the lines. If plough can be used ploughing and pul- 

 verising and trenching 6 deep and planting 4.4' apart of single 

 bulbs should be done, the rows being made 7' to 8' apart. 

 As the land gets poorer by cropping the rows should be made 

 closer but never closer than 6' apart, the hilling or earthing 

 once is all the subsequent operation needed. The roots are 

 dug up from December to February i.e., 9 months after 

 planting, the planting being done in March or April. Ordi- 

 nary arrow-root does better planted in May or June. 



768. A good test for ascertaining when the ordinary 

 arrow-root .bulbs are ready for harvest is to observe at the 

 outer leaf of the bulb a triangular slit pointing down- 

 wards; if the slit is white the bulb is still immature; as 

 soon as it turns purple it is ready for harvest. It can be left 

 for 2 seasons as sugar-cane is sometimes left. 



769. Each day's digging must be operated on on the 

 same day. Every day of exposure to sun and weather has 

 an injurious effect upon the colour of the manufactured starch. 

 12 to 40 tons of tous-les-mois bulbs per acre are obtained if the 

 plants are 5' by 6' apart. 15 to 30 cwts. of starch per acre is 

 the average produce. Up to 4 tons have been obtained, 

 The price of arrow-root in London market is 15 per ton. 

 If machinery is used 10 to 30 cwts. of arrow-root can be 

 extracted per day. For a mill capable of turning out 30 

 cwts. of arrow-root per day, the following appliances are 

 necessary; one root-washing tank, one elevator, one grater or 



