April 19, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
835 
duct this starch is gradually working its way in Europe, 
and has been rewarded with silver medals at several of the 
Industrial Exhibitions. Maize contains about 75 per cent, 
of starch. A considerable quantity of Maranta starch is 
produced on the coasts of Georgia and Florida. The yield 
of roots of all sizes is from 100 to 150 bushels per acre. 
From a bushel of roots weighing 43 lbs., about 5f lbs. of 
clear, dry fecula is obtained. 
South American Starches. 
In British Guiana a good deal of edible starch is made 
from the various tropical roots, but the starchy products 
do not form an article of export from the colony now, the 
arrowroots, cassavas, etc., being locally used. Palatable 
starch can be obtained from the root of the Ahtrcemeria 
pallida., Graham, and the starch from the various Chilian 
Alstroemerias was suggested to be sought for and shown at 
the Exhibition ol 1851. The tubers of many of these 
could doubtless be utilised in a similar manner. In Brazil 
considerable attention is given to the production and manu¬ 
facture of edible starches. A most interesting and varied 
collection of these was shown at the Paris Exhibition in 
1867 ; it comprised among others the following products, 
many of which I have not been able to identify, in the 
absence of either scientific name or other clue to the 
plants :— 
Yellow pumpkin starch. 
Pine starch, and pine farina. 
Fecula of Itua. 
Maizena—Indian corn fecula. 
Meal and tapioca of seeds of gergelim (Sesame). 
Fecula and tapioca di forno. 
Jacatupe starch. 
Mango starch. 
Potato starch. 
Bread fruit starch. 
Carnauba starch from the trunk of Copernicia cernifera. 
Shushu or xuxu starch (from a bulb). 
Fecula of bananas. 
Meal of yam ( Dioscorea sp.). 
Arrowroot fecula (Maranta). 
Starch of bitter potato. 
Starch of Brazil potato. 
Meal of Demerara potato. 
Fecula of Maira potato. 
Water farina of manioc. 
Dry farina of manioc. 
Beiju of manioc (dried slices). 
Flour of manioc gratings. 
Puba manioc. 
Dry meal of white manioc. 
Dry meal of yellow manioc. 
Dry meal of white manioc, sold at three milreis the 
alquiere. 
Coarse manioc meal. 
Starch of manioc. 
Tapioca of manioc. 
Carima of manioc in small balls. 
Dried meal of Macacheira or Aipim (Manihot Aipi), sells 
at two and a-half milreis the alquiere. 
Carima of macacheira in small balls. 
Feculas from other roots and bulbs than the manioc are 
rarely manufactured. The Maranta arundinacea is grown 
in Para ; there are two varieties, one with a large long 
root, which produces the most fecula, the other, named 
“ ounce’s paw,” from the resemblance it bears to the fore¬ 
foot of that animal. 
The arrowroot, after being subjected to the action of 
running water, is sometimes buried in the mud until, it 
ferments and becomes a plastic mass, to which they give 
the name puba , as they do in like manner to the manioc, 
when it undergoes a similar process. 
Jacatupd starch is extracted from the bulbous root of a 
climber whose leaf is poisonous. The starch is used in 
soups, puddings, gruels, and other food preparations, and 
is said to possess important medicinal qualities, in dysen¬ 
tery, nephritic and other diseases. 
The manioc or cassava is, however, the plant chiefly 
cultivated for food purposes in Brazil. No species of 
plants have been more changed in scientific nomenclature 
by botanists than these, for they have been classed as- 
Jatrophas, Janiphas , Manihots, Curcas, etc. I will adopt- 
the names given by Pohl to the two principal species- 
(most of the others seem to be but mere varieties) the 
bitter or poisonous species, Manihot utilissima, and the 
sweet species, M. Aipi. 
The manioc would seem to be a native of Brazil ; ifc 
has been introduced into India, and is grown about Cal¬ 
cutta, Madras, the Straits Settlements, and other quarters. 
It flourishes better on the borders of the sea and on 
islands than in the interior of the continent. On the 
coast of Coromandel the roots are more fibrous, and there¬ 
fore inferior to those raised in Malabar. It is extensively 
grown in Guiana, the West Indies, and various parts of 
Africa. 
The tubers of the bitter cassava attain a length of three 
feet. They can be converted into bread or cakes. The 
volatile poison of the milky sap is destroyed by pressing 
the grated root in the first instance, the remaining acridity 
being expelled by the heating process. The starch, heated 
while in a moist state, furnishes the tapioca of commerce. 
Cassava is abundantly cultivated in Brazil and Venezuela- 
—especially at Caraccas, where the singularly uniform 
temperature throughout the year is only 60 deg. to 70 deg. 
Fah. It is a very exhausting crop, and stands in need of 
rich soil and manuring. The propagation is effected by 
cuttings from the ligneous part of the stem. 
The soil destined for manioc must not be wet. In warms 
countries the tubers are available in about eight months, 
though they continue to grow afterwards. The growth of 
the plant upwards is checked by breaking off the buds. 
The bitter is the more productive of the two species. The 
yellowish tubers attain sometimes a weight of 30 lbs. 
They do not become soft by boiling, like the Aipi or sweet 
manioc. 
The sweet species, though a native of tropical South 
America, extends as far south as the Parana river. The 
root is reddish and harmless, and can be used, unlike the 
bitter species, without any further preparation than boil¬ 
ing as a culinary esculent, irrespective of its starch being 
also available for tapioca. 
From the roots of the two species many food products 
are obtained, among others, coarse cakes made by rasping 
and pressing the root, which are cooked on a hot plate. 
The fecula, heated on hot iron plates, becomes partially 
cooked, and agglomerated in small, hard, irregular lumps,, 
and in this form is known as tapioca. This substance, 
partially soluble in water, forms a nourishing food, much 
appreciated in Europe. 
Farina of manioc in its crude form is often seen at 
Brazilian tables, but is more frequently mixed with water 
and baked in thin cakes, in this state forming the bread 
of the poorer classes. It thus forms a nourishing and 
cheap food ; and it is to be regretted that in Europe the 
vendors should palm off potato-starch and other similar 
substances for the more delicate and agreeable cassava 
and tapioca. 
Manioc meal is produced on an extensive scale in the 
province of Santa Catharina, where they employ improved 
machines for preparing it, especially in the settlements. 
These producers supply the markets of the capital and of 
the other provinces. The foreign export of manioc meal 
in 1845 was 145,722 alquieres. Manioc is the staple 
article of food for the whole population. There are more 
than 14,000 manufactories, and the total production is 
calculated at upwards of 500,000 alquieres. In abundant 
years the meal and fecula fall as low as 1 or 2 milreis the* 
alquiere, but in years of scarcity often rise to above 8 
milreis. The foreign export was for some time checked 
by a tax of 2 milreis imposed on each sack exported, but 
this tax was abolished in 1865. 
