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1 May, 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 335 
All of these, except the Limas, must be used when young and tender. 
‘The Lima beans may either be used green or allowed to ripen and stored for 
use in winter. They will keep for a long time, and only require soaking in 
water before cooking, to render them soft and palatable. Lima beans should 
be more extensively cultivated than they are, because they will succeed in dry 
seasons when other beans fail, and continue to bear right through the summer. 
The varieties of French beans (including so-called Butter beans) are 
legion, and each grower must choose the kind best suited to his requirements. 
Of the Limas, Burpee’s Bush Lima is a very good kind. The beans of 
this variety are considerably larger than most of the other Limas, and are also 
very tender and palatable. 
. 
ARROW ROOT. 
By A. J. BOYD. 
Neary 40 years have elapsed since arrowroot was first manufactured on a 
commercial scale in Queensland, and the Messrs. Grimes undoubtedly can 
claim to be the fathers of the industry. In the early sixties they grew a 
considerable quantity of arrowroot both on Oxley Creek and on the Brisbane 
River, and, later, on the Coomera River, where they erected machinery for the 
manipulation of the bulbs. Two kinds were grown—the Bermuda, or Maranta 
arundinacea; and the large purple variety, Canna edulis. These differ materially 
from each other both in habit of growth and in size, shape, and colour of the 
bulbs. 
The Bermuda plant is diminutive, rarely attaining a greater height than 
between 2 and 3 feet. The blossom is white, and the tubers, which cluster 
round the roots, are also white, with a thin skin, and bare of rootlets. They 
adhere to the roots of the plants much in the same manner as potatoes, and 
are not very numerous. 
The purple variety, or Canna edulis, grows to a great height, often rising to 
8 or 9 feet. It has very large broad, ribbed leaves, and as many as fifteen and 
twenty stalks rise from a single stool, each stalk representing a large bulb. 
In the flowering season the plant sends up a long straight spike, from the head 
of which bursts a beautiful bunch of bright scarlet flowers, having the 
appearance of those of the Canna known as Indian Shot, so generally seen in 
our gardens. The seeds do not often mature, however, as do those of the Canna 
family generally. The bulbs from which the arrowroot of commerce is 
prepared, form a compact mass on the surface of the ground, and so prolific is 
the plant that as much as 60 and even 80 lb. weight of bulbs have been dug 
from a single stool. 
Our illustration represents a well-grown field on the Pimpama River 
(which is now the principal seat of the industry), the property of Messrs. 
Lahey Bros., who have here an extensive manufacturing plant, where also corn- 
flour is prepared. 
It does not follow that because there are only one or two principal centres 
of manufacture in Queensland that, therefore, the plant will: thrive only in 
those localities. On the contrary, it grows luxuriantly on all the coast lands 
from the Tweed in the far south to Cooktown in the far north. It prefers the 
rich allnvial scrub lands on the river and creek banks, but does very well also on 
the richdeep soils of opencountry. The Bermuda arrowroot prefers a more sandy, 
loamy soil. The writer grew both varieties at Oxley on the newly cleared scrub 
Jand bordering on that creek, and found that the former did not thrive well onthe 
rich soil, many plants producing only two or three tubers 6 or 7 inches long 
and about 1 inch in diameter. The purple Canna, on the contrary, grew most 
luxuriantly and produced an enormous number of bulbs, which usually found 
their way to the Messrs. Grimes’ mill on the Brisbane River. The price of 
