346 



ARROWROOT. 



A sort of nursery is formed in this way : In October and November 

 the shoots are planted out in holes made about 12 or 14 inches 

 apart ; the shoot is placed in the hole, set upright and pressed round 

 with earth. Ten n:en, working methodically in gangs, can plant an 

 acre in a day. The only care needed is to keep the ground between 

 the plants free from weeds by hand hoeing. The soil best adapted for 

 the cultivation should be fairly good, but light. Old bush or forest 

 land is generally very excellent ; stony and heavy soils are unsuitable, 

 because the tubers are apt to get clogged in it; their growth is stunted, 

 and it is very difficult to dig them up. 



The crop is known to be ripe when the leaves fade ; at that time the 

 tubers and offsets are densely filled with starch, and ready to be taken 

 from the ground for manufacture. They are dug up and turned over 

 with a fork, while pickers follow and shake off the earth and pick out 

 the bulbs and collect them in a basket ; one forker keeps four pickers 

 employed, and one picker can deal with fi'om 250 lbs. to 300 lbs. of 

 tubers in a day. 



About 10 acres should be cultivated the first year, and by the time 

 the produce is harvested there ought to be 20 acres of ground broken 

 up, ready for planting, and calculated to yield a double income in the 

 following years, with a decreasing expenditure. 



The manufacture requires care rather than skill, and the crop is 

 less affected by vicissitudes of weather than almost any other that can 

 be produced. The manufactory buildings may be of the simplest 

 description, all that is required being free ventilation and protection 

 from wet. The abundant water-power of the colony affords ready 

 means of working the machinery. A water-wheel of 4 horse-power is 

 sufficient to manufacture from 4 cwts. to 5 cwts. of starch per day. 

 Fifteen Kafir labourers suffice for the management of 25 acres of plan- 

 tation. As a drawback, on the other hand, the market for the starch is 

 very uncertain and apt to be easily overstocked ; and the starch itself 

 is so delicate in quality, that it is very liable to deteriorate and become 

 damaged, even after it has been packed and shipped. The greatest 

 cleanliness is required in its preparation. 



In the process of manufactm*e the tubers are pressed against a re- 

 volving cylinder of rough tin (resembling a nutmeg grater), and the 

 raspings are then subjected to repeated washings ; the fibrous refuse 

 rises to the surface and is skimmed away, while the pure starch 

 settles into a white paste, which is dried on calico trays, then broken 

 into lumps, and packed in boxes for market. 



During the manufacture four hands are needed in the drying house 

 and three in the grinding house. The arrowroot should be quite cold 

 and ready to pack on the fifth day. As it readily contracts moisture 

 from the atmosphere, it must not be packed in damp weather, and it 

 should never be forgotten that the starch is apt to deteriorate in taste 

 and colour if kept in proximity to substances that emit a strong odour, 

 such as hides, sugar, or any decomposing organic matter. 



The yield of starch is tolerably much the same whether the growing 

 season has been wet or dry. In wet seasons the tuber is large and soft, 

 but its greater size is made up of moisture, pulp, and fibre, and not of 

 starch. About 15 per cent, of starch should be obtained from good 



