Edible Products. 



216 



[March, 1912. 



It will easily be understood, from 



what I have written about the process 

 of manufacture, that it is of little use 

 trying to manufacture arrowroot unless 

 there is a plentiful supply of good clean 

 water, 



One of the principle growers and 

 manufacturers at Yatala, near Been- 

 leigh, estimated that, when working his 

 mill three days a week and producing 

 about half a ton of arrowroot a day, 

 24,000 gallons of water were used every 

 eight hours. The refuse fibre and pulp 

 are carted back to the fields and utilised 

 as manure. 



Another grower stated that arrowroot 

 gave a monetary return about equal to 

 maize and potatoes ; but it was a surer 

 crop. It would stand flooding that 

 would kill potatoes, and dry weather 

 would not affect it so adversely as it 

 would corn, Both these troubles I have 

 experienced, and can quite bear out his 

 statement. 



Yield and Value op Crop. 



The yield of commercial farina may 

 be set down at from 1 to even 2 tons per 

 acre and the price ranges from £16 to 

 £20 per ton, Late market reports give 

 the price in London at from 2d- to 3Jd. ; 

 per lb. Bermuda being quoted in October, 

 1911, at Is. Id. per lb. 



A considerable item of expense in the 

 manufacture is the cost of firewood, 

 seeing that it takes a cord of wood for 

 each ton of tubers. The tubers contain 

 from 20 to 30 per cent, of starch or 400 to 

 600 lb. of starch per ton of tubers. 

 Cost of Machinery for Arrowroot 

 and Cornflour. 



Such a mill as I have described would 

 cost, according to capacity, from £500 to 

 £1,200, exclusive of about £200 for the 

 necessary drying and storage sheds. 

 Where cornflour is made, the cost of a 

 mill may run to over £4,000, owing to 

 additional and more complicated mach- 

 inery for producing this product, 

 although the process is much akin to 

 the manufacture of arrowrrot. Briefly, 

 the corn (maize) is first steeped in hot 



water, and is then ground between large 



millstones, after which it passes through 

 sieves into huge vats, when it settles, 

 and the gluten remains on the surface. 

 This gluten cannot be washed off with* 

 out the aid of chemicals. 



Area Under Arrowroot in Queens- 

 land, and Production. 

 In the principal Arrowroot-growing 

 districts above mentioned there were in 

 1910, 366 acres planted, mostly in small 

 areas. According to the Government 

 Statistician's annual report published in 

 August, 1911, the yield of bulbs amounted 

 to 4.275 tons— an average of 1168 tons 

 per acre — from 3,132 tons of which were 

 produced 718,636 tons of commercial 

 arrowroot ; value, £7,744. The price of 

 Queensland arrowroot has of late had a 

 considerable upward tendency ; and 

 whereas the London price to the Queens- 

 land manufacturer has been as low as 

 £14 per ton, British Importers during 

 the past year paid up to £30 per ton. 

 This rise, which at the time of writing, 

 appears to be permanent, has not failed 

 to give a stimulus to the industry, and 

 next year's statistics in reference to the 

 production may show a much larger 

 area planted. 



In July, 1909, there were 241 acres under 

 this crop, nearly all in the districts 

 named ; and the yield amounted to 1,555 

 tons of tubers, of which 1,197 tons were 

 used for the production of commercial 

 arrowroot, the quantity of which was 

 estimated at 300 tons, divided amongst 

 the different districts as follow:— 

 Pimpama, 100 tons ; Coomera, 40 tons ; 

 Yatala, 10 tons ; Ormeau, 50 tons , and 

 Nerang, 60 tons. The commercial arrow- 

 root produced was only 246,064 lb. The 

 Australian requirements are about 350 

 tons annually, and, with the large 

 increase in population by immigration 

 and otherwise, this demaud is constantly 

 increasing, which means that, unless the 

 area devoted to arrowroot cultivation 

 is considerably extended, from 50 to 100 

 tons have to be imported to supply the 

 deficiency :— 



Year. 



Imports, 



Exports. 



Production. 





Quantity. 



Value. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Quantity. 



Manufactur- 

 ers Value. 



1905 

 1906 

 1907 

 1908 

 1909 

 1910 



Lb. 



2,240 



"78 

 103 



32,032 



* 



£ 



12 



*"l 

 1 



886 

 * 



Lb. 

 597,325 

 491,771 

 658,«19 

 560,105 



218,614 



* 



£ 



5,439 



3.949 



5,389 



5,792 



3,250 

 * 



Lb 



758. 



759 , 



49 r ,.sW 



480,620 



246,064 



718,636 



£ 



4,028 

 3,639 

 3,292 

 4,013 

 3,332 

 7,744 



* Not Available. 



