352 



JAPANESE STARCHES. 



tte lb. One estate, the Praia Eei, on the island of St. Thomas, West 

 Coast of Africa, produces about 150,000 litres of farina of manioc. 

 In Angola, about 150,000 lbs. is manufactured annually. At Mozam- 

 bique the Portuguese also prepare a good deal, which is sold for 

 export at 2i to francs the decalitre (17^ pints) ; dried slices of the 

 root are sold in great quantity in the markets at 5cZ. to 5ic?. the 

 decalitre. 



The Straits Settlements. — In Singapore the tapioca manufacture has 

 been very successful, but the crop is said to entirely exhaust the soil 

 in five years. 



From Pinang as much as 10,000 cwts. of tapioca and arrowroot is 

 shipped annually to Great Britain and the United States. 



The imports of tapioca from the Straits Settlements into the United 

 Kingdom have been as follows : — 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Year. 



Quantity. 



cwts. 

 92,021 

 90,600 

 20,301 

 27,792 

 27,530 

 18.191 



112.118 

 27,727 

 30,107 

 36,268 

 27,509 



1866 

 1867 

 1868 

 1869 

 1870 



cwts. 

 14,346 

 15,660 

 38,409 

 48,418 

 75,524 



Since 1871 the value only has been given :- 



1871 85,889 



1872 82,563 



1873 69,820 



£ 



1874 51,022 



1875 104.274 



Sago has been described at p. 267, under the section of "The 

 Useful Palms." 



Japanese Staeches. — Son^ of the starches peculiar to Japan are 

 worth special notice ; these are the " kudzu," or starch made from 

 the root of Pueraria Thunhergiana ; the " kata-kuri," made of the root 

 of a kind of dog's-tooth violet ; and, finally, the starch prepared from 

 the root of the fern Pteris aquilina. All these three plants grow wild, 

 and the kudzu, which yields the best starch, is very abundant in 

 certain places. It belongs to the Papilonaceous family, grows very 

 rapidly, and in a short time its creepers cover the ground, spreading 

 over the neighbouring bushes and trees their luxuriant foliage. The 

 root is frequently over 5 feet in length, and as thick as a man's arm. 

 For the manufacture of starch by the ordinary process of crushing the 

 root, washing the starch out and decanting it, moderate-sized roots, 

 1 foot in length and 1 inch in diameter, are mostly used. The starch 

 is of a fine colour, and has a most agreeable flavour; mixed with 

 warm water it produces a fine transparent paste. 



The method of preparing the two other kinds of starch from the roots 

 of the dog's-tooth violet and the fern — the former of which merits special 

 mention for its qualities — does not present any peculiarity. Both form 



