632  Arrowroot  Plantations  of  Queensland.  {^SgEtF*- 
to  the  tubers  with  a  cane  knife  or  strong  reaping  hook.  The  tubers 
are  then  raised  with  grubbing  hoe  or  mattock.  With  all  speed  they 
are  placed  in  carts  and  conveyed  to  the  mill,  for  the  color  is 
seriously  affected  by  being  exposed  to  the  sun  or  weather  before 
grinding.  Sometimes  as  much  as  50  lbs.  of  tubers  are  obtained 
from  one  plant. 
The  machinery  consists  of  a  six-horse  power  engine,  a  root- 
washer,  grinding  mill,  cylinder,  sieves  for  separating  the  farina  from 
the  fibre  and  pulp,  and  a  centrifugal  for  drying.  The  root-washer 
is  a  trough  ten  feet  long,  three  feet  deep,  and  two  feet  in  diameter. 
This  has  a  half  circular  bottom,  through  which  a  stream  of  water  is 
constantly  running.  A  spindle  having  pegs  about  four  inches  apart, 
and  of  a  sufficient  length  to  reach  within  an  inch  of  the  bottom  and 
sides,  revolves  in  the  trough.  The  pegs  cleanse  the  bulbs  of  all 
dirt  and  they  gradually  work  down  to  one  end  of  the  trough.  A 
wooden  rake  pushes  the  bulbs  out  into  a  continuous  belt  elevator, 
and  thence  they  are  conveyed  to  the  hopper  of  the  mill.  This  is  a 
wooden  drum  two  feet  six  inches  on  the  face,  and  two  feet  in  diame- 
ter. It  is  covered  with  a  sheet  of  galvanized  iron,  punched  and 
placed  on  with  the  burr  on  the  outside.  The  drum  revolves  at  great 
speed,  and  a  stream  of  water  falls  on  it  from  tanks  fixed  above.  Thus 
the  bulbs  are  grated  up,  the  bulbs  and  the  water  passing  through 
the  sieve  No.  I,  which  is  a  cylinder  eight  feet  long  with  the  bottom 
half  perforated  with  holes  about  the  size  of  a  No.  7  wire  nail. 
Within  this  a  beater  revolves,  forcing  the  water  and  farina  through 
the  holes,  and  being  placed  on  the  screw  the  pulp  and  fibre  are 
forced  out  at  the  end.  The  farina  and  water  pass  into  sieve  No.  2, 
which  is  similar  to  No.  1,  only  with  holes  about  the  size  of  a  large 
pin-head  in  the  bottom  of  copper.  After  this  the  liquid  runs  along  a 
trough  two  feet  wide,  six  inches  deep,  and  seventy  feet  long.  The  farina 
is  deposited  at  the  bottom  of  this,  and  the  water  passes  off.  The 
farina  is  now  dug  out,  and  passed  through  sundry  more  sieves, 
washed  by  hand  and  in  tubs,  then  finally  left  to  subside.  When 
pretty  firm  it  is  taken  out  and  passed  through  a  centrifugal  machine. 
It  is  now  placed  on  the  drying  frames.  These  are  wooden  frames 
about  six  feet  six  inches  long,  with  marsupial  netting  and  calico 
stretched  upon  them.  They  are  placed  away  from  any  dust  or 
smoke,  and  the  wind  passing  underneath,  as  well  as  the  sun  above, 
aids  in  the  drying  process.    But  the  sun  and  air  are  not  alone 
