12 



CASE grouud or grated to a pulp, which is washed ^o as to separate 

 5_ the starch from it. This starch is carefully- washed in pure 

 water, then drained and dried with a gentle heat. Very 

 great care has to be taken throughout the whole process 

 to prevent the introduction of dust, iron-mould, or any 

 foreign substance which would spoil the colour or taste of the 

 Arrowroot. Arrowroot is known in commerce by the names 

 of the places where it is produced, as Bermuda, St. Vincent, 

 and Natal, that from Bermuda being considered the best quality ; 

 it is an important and easily digested article of food, and is 

 used in the form of puddings and blanc-manges. 



On the bottom shelves note mats, made in India, of strips of 

 the stem of Phrynium dichotomum, Roxb. ; also starch or 

 Tou3 LES Mois, prepared from the tubers of Canna edulis, 

 Ker., an herbaceous perennial once much cultivated in Peru 

 and the West Indies, Tous les Mois is a wholesome and 

 nutritious food, adapted for infants, invalids, and convalescents, 

 but it is not much used. It yields some of the Queensland 

 Arrowroot. The microscopic granules are larger than those 

 of any other starch used as food. " 



Note, necklaces from India and Eastern Africa made of seeds 

 of Indian Shot {Canna indica, Jj.). 



CASE. ^^ *^® upper part of this Case note leaf of Balisieb 

 g^ {Calathea discolor, Mey.), sometimes used in Dominica for 

 lining baskets. Observe tubers of C. Alloicya, Ldl., used as 

 food in Trinidad and Dominica under the names of Topee 

 Tamboo, or ToKEE Tambo (corruptions of Topinamhour, the 

 French name of the Jerusalem Artichoke). See Kew Bulletin^ 

 1892, pp. 244, 245. 



ISTo. 17. Bananas. The fruits of Musa sapientum, 

 Linn., a plant cultivated almost everywhere in the tropics 

 under a number of forms. In India, China, and the East 

 Indian Islands the culture of bananas dates from extreme 

 antiquity. There is no sufficient evidence of their existence in 

 the New World prior to its discovery. The fruits are exhibited 

 preserved in spirit, as well as decorticated and dried, as they 

 are preserved for use as food in British Guiana. Banana meal 

 and fibre from the stems and petioles are also shown, as well as 

 specimens of cordage made from the fibre. 



No. 18. Fruits of the Plantain (Jf. - sapientum^ var. 

 paradisiaca). An important article of food in tropical countries 

 either cooked when fresh, or sliced and dried, or reduced to a 



