834 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 19, 1873. 
state that I have placed on the table a very large and 
varied collection of edible starches, which have all been 
carefully identified and referred to their proper sources, 
by my friend in the chair, for in commercial circles there 
is too much confusion on this point. A few figures will 
serve to prove that the commerce in these articles is of 
considerable aggregate importance. 
In 1850 we imported about one million pounds of arrow- 
root ; in 1860 these imports had increased to more than 
2,383,000 lbs. In 1860 the value of the edible starches, 
etc., imported was £206,438. In 1870 it had increased to 
£366,550. 
In 1871, the last year for which we have the complete 
official detailed returns of imports, the aggregate value of 
the farinaceous substances and manufactures therefrom 
imported is stated at £274,281 ; sago and sago flour, 
£197,381 ; total, £471,662. But as the article “maizena” 
is thrown in with Indian-corn meal, and much maize, rice, 
and even potatoes are converted into edible starches here, 
I may as well add the figures given for Indian-corn meal 
(£13,944) to the above, which would bring up the total to 
£485,706 for the year. 
Our imports of arrowroot from the West Indies, in the 
last ten years, have fluctuated between 12,000 cwts. and 
22,000 cwts. a year ; from South Africa we now get from 
3,000 to 4,000 cwts. annually. 
Having thus given you an outline of the extent of our 
imports, I proceed to treat of the production and consump¬ 
tion in the several localities, preferring to arrange the 
information under these divisions, as more generally recog¬ 
nizable and more easily followed. 
European Starches. 
But few plants are utilized for edible starches in Europe. 
We are mainly dependant for our supplies of these on 
tropical and sub-tropical countries. Occasionally small 
quantities of Portland arrowroot have been made from 
Arum maculatum. In Italy the fecula of Arum italicum 
and of Pancratium maritimum is manufactured to some 
extent, and sold at 3|d. per lb. About two tons are made 
annually by one maker at Cava. 
Starch is manufactured in the south of France and the 
neighbourhood of Paris from the horse-chestnut. It yields 
about 16 or 17 per cent, of starch. If it is to be used as 
food, it must be treated with water containing carbonate 
of soda, to remove all bitterness, and then washed repeat¬ 
edly with pure water. Only small quantities of it have 
been imported into this country, more for curiosity than 
for commercial purposes. 
Rice starch has, within the last few years, been prepared 
as a beautiful food product, under the name of corn-flour, 
by an eminent firm, and the care with which it is manu¬ 
factured, and its nutritive qualities, have commanded for 
it a large sale. As much as 80 or 90 per cent, of starch 
has been obtained from some kinds of dry rice, but the 
average may be taken at 73. Imported maize or Indian - 
corn is also converted in this country into a starchy food 
product, sold as corn-flour. 
Under the name of farina, without the prefix of “potato,” 
a large quantity of potato starch is imported and sold here. 
The process by which potato starch is now so largely 
made on the Continent by improved machinery is very 
perfect. Its hygroscopic properties are however great; 
even when sold in the shops in the form of dry powder, as 
a substitute for arrowroot, it contains 18 per cent, of 
water, and if placed in a damp atmosphere, it will rapidly 
absorb double that amount of water. The percentage of 
starch in the potato ranges from 9 to 26 per cent. Sago, 
vermicelli, and various other food products are made on 
the Continent with potato starch. The famed gravies, 
sauces, and soups of France are largely indebted for their 
excellence to the so-called farina from potatoes. 
As Professor Owen observed as far back as 1856, in his 
official report on the alimentary substances shown at the 
Paris Exhibition of 1855—“ The French at present appear 
to excel in the art of preparing and modifying the starch 
principle of the potato, so as to simulate the product of 
the Maranta arundinacea, called under one form arrowroot, 
and under another, or granular form, ‘ tapioca ; ’ as also to 
simulate the starch principle of the Cycas circinalis, called 
‘sago,’ and that of certain Asiatic species of Orchis , called 
‘ salep.’ It must be added that the conscientious fabrica¬ 
tors of these imitations vend them as ‘French, or indigenous 
arrowroots, sagos,’ etc., and at a lower price than that for 
which the genuine exotic article can be obtained. I am 
afraid that there is little conscientious principle manifested 
among vendors here, for European arrowroots and sagos 
sell as readily and promiscuously as Indian and American.” 
West Indian Arrowroot. 
Maranta arundinacea furnishes most of the genuine 
West Indian Arrowroot, although other species, such as 
M. nohilis, M. AUouya , M. ramosissima, are also cultivated 
for a similar starch from their tubers, and several species 
of Canna are utilised for the starch in their tubers. 
The Bermuda arrowroot was long considered the purest 
quality made, its superiority either arising from the nature 
of the water or soil, or from greater care in the manufac¬ 
ture, but the production has been declining, and has now 
given way to other more profitable crops. The general 
export from the colony was, in 1870, 45,675 lbs.; in 1871, 
30,276 lbs. ; and in 1872, 26,710 lbs.; valued at £1,323. 
When made by the labourers in the West Indies on a 
small scale, arrowroot is prepared much in the same 
manner as potato starch in this country for domestic use ; 
the only implements required are a grater and -wooden 
troughs and trays ; when made on a larger scale, as on the 
estates of the proprietors, the crushing of the root and the 
reducing it to a pulp are effected by simple and cheap 
machinery (a wheel and rollers) worked by water. The 
arrowroot is dried under sheds. Little or no use is at 
present made of the pulp after the extraction of the starch 
by lixiviation, but probably a serviceable paper might be 
made of it at a trifling cost. 
In 1869 there were 65J acres under culture in Jamaica, 
and in 1870, but 49£ acres. The exports have declined 
year by year from 70,204 lb. to 6,343 lbs. In the Island 
of St. Kitts, arrowroot and tous les mois (from Canna) are 
produced to some extent. 
The amount of arrowroot exported from St. Vincent is 
now about two millions of pounds; in 1847, the quantity 
shipped was only 297,587 lbs.; and in 1851, 490,837 lbs. 
Many circumstances have promoted this increased culture. 
When it began the price of the article was high, and the 
grower obtained a largely remunerative profit ; its culture 
was not laborious ; it was subject to few risks ; it did not 
for its success require rich land or much manure ; there 
was a constant and increasing demand for it ; and in con¬ 
sequence of the abundance of pure water, great facilities 
were afforded for the manufacture, and that by a process 
so simple, easy, and cheap, as to require little skill in 
conducting it, and scarcely any capital. St, Vincent is the 
only arrowroot-producing colony that has kept steadily 
progressive. 
I have not any recent statistics of the production of 
arrowroot in Barbados, but I believe little is made or 
shipped from the island now. 
In Antigua there has been considerable decline in the 
production. From 1850 to 1854 the exports were from 
300 to 500 boxes and barrels, and from Montserrat, in some 
years, 250 barrels. In 1870 our imports of arrowroot from 
Antigua had dwindled to 30 cwt., value £28. 
Tortola used to export arrowroot and tous les mois of the 
value of £500 to £1,500 a-year, but has dropped out of 
the production. 
North American Starches. 
The enormous production of Indian corn in the United 
States, and the fact of its containing a less proportion of 
gluten than wheat, have led to its extensive utilization for 
starch manufacture, and also as a food product, under the 
names of maizena and corn flour. As an alimentary pro- 
