Am"Dec.!"is92anr*}  Arrowroot  Plantations  of  Queensland.  631 
Meat  and  Malt  Koumiss  would  constitute  a  serviceable  preparation 
in  consumption. 
Chemists  dealing  in  these  preparations  should  impress  upon  the 
minds  of  their  customers,  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  bottles  in  a 
cool  place,  and  the  advisability  of  using  either  champagne  or  soda 
water  taps,  so  that  the  bulk  of  the  gas  may  not  escape  with  the  first 
draught. 
THE  ARROWROOT  PLANTATIONS  OF  COOMERA  AND 
PIMPAMA,  QUEENSLAND.1, 
By  H.  L.  Thompson. 
The  arrowroot  grown  in  the  township  of  Coomera  is  the  purple 
variety — the  Canna  ednlis.  It  sometimes  grows  to  a  height  of  eight 
feet,  bears  a  pretty  scarlet  flower,  and  a  dark  purple  seed  pod  fol- 
lows, which  is  generally  sterile.  The  best  variety  of  arrowroot,  the 
Maranta  arundinacea,  which  is  grown  so  extensively  in  the  Bermu- 
das, thrives  well  in  this  district ;  but  its  cultivation  has  been  almost 
abandoned,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  manufacture.  This  kind 
attains  the  height  of  two  feet,  and  bears,  at  maturity,  a  small  white 
flower  somewhat  resembling  the  potato  blossom.  In  the  districts 
of  Coomera  and  Pimpama  there  are  from  250  to  300  acres  under 
cultivation. 
The  mode  of  cultivation  is  as  follows  :  The  ground  is  ploughed 
in  ridges  of  about  forty-six  feet  wide,  and  thoroughly  harrowed  and 
scarrified.  Nine  rows  are  placed  in  this,  five  feet  apart,  leaving  six 
for  the  row  in  which  the  by-furrow  comes.  Shallow  furrows,  five 
inches  deep,  are  run  with  the  plough,  then  the  smaller  bulbs,  about 
the  size  of  a  small  apple,  which  are  found  growing  at  the  bottom  of 
the  stems,  are  placed  four  feet  six  inches  apart  in  the|drill,  and 
covered  by  turning  a  furrow  from  each  side  on  to|the  top  of  the 
bulbs.  Afterwards,  cultivation  is  carried  on  by  keeping  the  ground 
clear  of  weeds  by  means  of  horse-hoes  or  scufflers.  When  the 
plant  reaches  the  height  of  about  three  feet,  the  spacefbetween  the 
rows  is  turned  up  with  a  one-horse  plough,  the  soil  thrown^towards 
the  plant,  and  a  furrow  left  in  the  middle.  It  requires  nothing 
further  till  it  is  dug  up  for  the  mill.  When  the  tubers  have  come 
to  maturity,  which  is  generally  in  ten  months  or  a  year,  the  crop  is 
ready.    The  stalks  of  the  plant  are  then  cut  off  as  close  as  possible 
1Fromthe  Pharmaceutical  Journal  of  Australasia,  August,^i892,  p.  87. 
