Edible Products, 



238 



[March, 1909. 



It will easily be seen that it is of 

 little use trying to manufacture arrow- 

 root unless there is a plentiful supply 

 of good clean water. Mr. J, Latimer, 

 who had eight acres under arrowroot 

 at Yatala this year, was working his 

 mill two or three days a week, and pro- 

 ducing about half a ton of arrowroot 

 a day. To do this, he estimated that 

 24,000 gallons of water were used in 

 eight hours. 



The refuse, fibre, and pulp are carted 

 back to the fields for use as manure. 



After drying, the arrowroot is ready 

 for bagging, and it is put in sacks lined 

 with calico ready for market. Most of 

 the arrowroot is brought to Brisbane 

 by steamers on account of the cheaper 

 freights. By railway from Stapylton to 

 South Brisbane (24 miles) the freight is 

 8s. per ton, and 2s. Gd. more has to be 

 paid for cartage to business places in 

 the city— a total of 10s. Od. per ton if by 

 rail. By steamer from Yatala the 

 freight is 5s. per ton and Is. 6d. a ton 

 cartage from the wharf to the stores — 

 total, 0s. Gd. By train the cost from 

 Neratig is 12s., and by steamer 8s : so that 

 the advantage of water carriage will 

 easily be recognised in the case of pro- 

 ducts which leave only a small margin 

 of profit. 



Mr. T. Doherty, one of the principal 

 growers, remarked that arrowroot gave 

 about the same return as corn or pota- 

 toes, btit 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. 



At the Melbourne Exhibition, W. 

 Murtha received the gold medal for 

 arrowroot, and J. Latimer the silver 

 medal ; and at Earl's Court Exhibition 

 (London), in 1889, Messrs. J. Latimer and 

 Sons received a silvermedal and diploma 

 for their exhibit of arrowroot. 



Early History of Arrowroot. 

 The name of Mr. Samuel Grimes has 

 long been connected with arrowroot 

 manufacture, and he assisted it along 

 very materially in years past. At the 

 present time, Mr. J. Latimer is prob- 

 ably the grower who has been longest 

 in the business. He related how in 1868 

 he went to Messrs R. and G. Board's 

 plantation, Malungmavel, to erect 

 some machinery for the sugar-making, 

 and also to put up an arrowroot manu- 

 facturing plant of a primitive type. 

 Messrs. Board had ten acres under 

 arrowroot, and they then got £40 per 

 ton for it. At that time Mr. Grimes 

 was also growing some. In those days 

 the whole of the product went to Mel- 

 bourne. As sugar was then paying 

 very well, Messrs. Board relinquished 



arrowroot growing, but Messrs. Grimes 

 and Lahey continued with it, and 

 soon afterwards some small growers 

 began to raise the bulb. Since then it 

 has continued to be a small farmer's 

 crop, largely on account of labour con- 

 ditions making it unremunerative to 

 pay much outside the grower's family. 

 The 200 acres grown this year will 

 probably produce 250 tons of market- 

 able arrowroot, worth approximately 

 £5,000. There are areas of suitable 

 land with good water available in the 

 district to widely extend the industry 

 should the demand justify it, and 

 no doubt the day will come when much 

 of the starch used in Australia is manu- 

 factured in the same district, from 

 arrowroot, potatoes, maize, and other 

 products which flourish so well there. — 

 Queensland Agricultural Journal, Vol, 

 XXII., Parti, Jan. 1909. 



TROPICAL FRUITS IN COVENT 

 GARDEN. 



According to a leading fruit salesman 

 in Covent Garden, "the demand for 

 rare tropical fruits is increasing." Not 

 many years ago the Banana, for instance, 

 was a rare fruit in England. To-day the 

 fruits are within the reach of all classes, 

 being retailed in every greengrocer's 

 shop, as well as in the costermonger's 

 barrow. Moreover, Bananas are now 

 imported not only in the fresh, but also 

 in the preserved state, as well as in the 

 form of flour. The imports of this 

 fruit in the fresh state have in a few 

 years increased by millions of bunches ; 

 at certain seasons special express trains 

 are provided for the speedy and safe 

 conveyance to London of West Indian 

 Bananas arriving at Bristol. A similar 

 story could be told of Pineapples, which 

 are now becoming a popular fruit in 

 England being imported from the 

 Canary Islands, Straits Settlements, 

 West Indies and Natal. The culture of 

 Pineapples in English hot-houses is no 

 lonerer necessary, although it affords an 

 interesting pursuit to those who can 

 afford it as a luxury. 



The principal hindrance to the in- 

 creased importation of tropical fruits 

 lies in the fact that they decay so readily 

 after reaching a certain stage of ripeness. 

 This difficulty is, however, being over- 

 come to some extent by means of effective 

 cold storage on board ship, and by rapid 

 sea transit. It is to these circumstances 

 that we chiefly owe such recent intro- 

 duction from tropical climes as the 

 Mango (Mangijera Indica), Avocado-pear 

 (Persea gratissima), Grape-fruit, Cheri- 

 moyer (called Custard Apple in Covent 



