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require water, sparingly at first, and as the plants grow more light, 
Jkeep growing quickly by giving more water and light and when 
strong enough pot into larger pots according to size of tuber. To 
obtain well-coloured leaves with all the spots, lines and colours pro 
minent, the plants must be gradually exposed, but care must be taken 
that the leaves are not “ wilted or caught ” by the sun. 
As the plants gradually mature and become “past,” they should 
be removed to a dry place and the watering reduced and finally 
dried off and rested in the pots as they stand. The tubers may 
remain dormant for three months; it is necessary to occasionally 
inspect them as the pots should not be dust dry and as the tubers 
sprout, repeat the treatment as before. This is the time that the 
different sorts may be increased by dividing the tubers. With 
some varieties, this ts not possible for two or more years, but nearly 
all admit of some division. It is assumed that only the freshly 
made tubers will be removed, which is really an advantage ; it is of 
course possible to cut or break up the old tuber as is done with a 
potato, but that means a weakened plant. 
Edible Aroids. 
Among the aroids cultivated in many parts of the world, one of 
the commonest is Colocasia antiquorum, now widely dispersed in all 
parts of the world warm enough for it. Probably a native of India, 
it lias ovate peltate leaves, usually light green, but there are also 
several pretty forms with blotches of purple or black on the leaves 
and stalks such are the varieties Fontanesii and /llustris. It is 
chiefly cultivated for pig food by the Chinese, but the long shoots 
are also eaten by natives, boiled with tamarinds. It is known by 
the Malays as “ Keladi Babi ; ” other varieties are “ Keladi Lilin” 
and “ Keladi Serakit.” 
The Malay name (< Keladi ” corresponds with the West Indian 
and South American “Tania” and “Eddoes” and includes all the 
edible tubers and rhizomes mentioned in the list appended. 
In the Malay Peninsula, edible aroids are mo'st easy of cultivation 
and they even often survive in suitable places as naturalised plants. 
Xanthosomas are plants with large cordate leaves on long stalks, 
of quite t he habit of the big Alocasias but are natives of South 
America. X. Lindenii , with its white-striped leaves, has long been 
a popular decorative plant. X. violacea and X. robusta are culti- 
vated for their edible rhizomes. 
X. violacea is known as r Keladi Kelamino.” 
Ornamental Aroids. 
Besides those previously mentioned, as worth cultivating for their 
beauty, we have a large number of handsome plants, often easily 
grown in pots, or 0.1 rockeries, which are very popular. 
Homalomenas , common in our forests, are an easy group of cultiva- 
tion. The large ones have heart-shaped or arrow-shaped leaves, 
of a rich green. The most popular is H. Singaporensis with bright 
