BREAD PLANTS 



6l 



Maranta. When the roving botanist first saw the 

 root, a Mexican Indian, wounded with a poisoned 

 arrow, dug up a plant, cut into a tuber, and 

 applied the oozing sap to the spot where the arrow 

 pierced the flesh. He did as all Indians did in 

 that region, and knew no other use of the plant 

 than to furnish this antidote for poison. It is 

 strange that the German name for this plant, 

 when translated, is the same. If a German travel- 

 ler carried home the plant and the name, nobody 

 remembers who he was, and when it happened. 



The Maranta, grown in all tropical countries, 

 produces arrowroot that is known in commerce 

 by the name of the country that produced it. 

 Hence, you can buy Australian, Natal, or Bermuda 

 arrowroot, and so on. 



One of the important recent discoveries is that 

 arrowroot of excellent quality is made from the 

 tubers of the various species of canna — our 

 common garden and park ornamental plant. 



Manihot arrowroot comes from the fleshy roots 

 of a South American plant with a milky, poisonous 

 juice. When this starch is separated from the 

 fibrous tissues, it is dried and becomes a white 

 powder. If baked on hot plates as it dries, it 

 becomes a cake, which is broken into small bits, 

 and these rounded by friction on each other, as 



