336 _ QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1899. 
bulbs at that time was £2 10s. per ton, and the manufactured product could 
be readily sold in the colony at from 9d. to 1s. per lb. The difficulties of trans- 
port amongst the scrub farms of those early years were very great, and 
for a long time boats were the sole conveyance possessed by the 
farmers on the Brisbane River and its tributaries. On one occasion 
the writer was towing a boat laden with 5 tons of arrowroot 
bulbs out of the creek. On reaching the river the craft gave signs of 
extensive leakage, as she was loaded almost to the gunwale. ‘There was just 
time to pull across to a sandbank on the opposite side when she sank in 2 
feet of water. The whole cargo had to be taken out, the boat was patched up 
andireloaded; but on reaching the wharf to which she was bound, she once 
more disappeared, and the cargo had to be recovered by diving. 
CULTIVATION. 
In newly burnt-off scrub land, of course the stumps occupy so much of 
the surface as to preclude any ploughing. It then becomes necessary to di 
holes with a sharp mattock or hoe which will cut the roots with which the 
ground is matted. The holes will be about 6 feet apart; 7 feet would be 
quite sufficient for the width between the rows, and 4 feet G inches between 
the holes, but, owing to the presence of the stumps, very little regularity can 
be observed, and the planter must do the best he can. On open, cleared land, 
where the plough can be used, the proper distances can be observed. The land 
should be thoroughly well ploughed and harrowed and pulverised. Then 
shallow drills are drawn with the plough about 6 inches deep, and at the 
regulation distance of 4 feet 6 inches apart single small bulbs are dropped and 
covered by turning a furrow over them on each side. On new land the best 
results haye been obtained by placing the rows 8 feet apart. As the land 
becomes poorer the rows may be closer together, but should not be of a 
less width than 6 feet. We saw a field at Pimpama, of which we give an 
illustration, in which the rows were 6 feet apart, yet in the month of April 
the plants had spread to such an extent that it was difficult to walk 
between them. When the plants are above ground they must be kept 
clean as in the case of other crops, and by the time they are about 8 feet 
high they will want no further cultivation beyond throwing up a furrow 
against the roots—hillmg up, in fact. From this time the heavy foliage 
will have covered the ground, effectually preventing the growth of weeds, 
The planting season extends from August, after the last frosts,,to the end 
of January. The crop should be ready to dig in July, as soon as one or two 
frosts have touched the plants, and the manufacture should go on until the 
end of October. If the work is protracted into the spring months, the bulbs begin 
to shoot, and the yield of starch is consequently lessened in quantity ang 
deficient in quality. 
PREPARATION OF THE BULBS. 
When the bulbs have come to maturity—that is, in about 9 months after 
planting—and when the plants, as stated above, have had a touch of frost, then 
is the time to commence the harvest. It may be well to repeat here the 
remarks made by Mr. D. Lahey, of Pimpama Grange, on the subject of 
“ When to Harvest Arrowroot,”’ which were published in Vol. LI., Part 6, of the 
Journal for 1898. 
A good test for ascertaining when arrowroot is ready for digging is the 
- following :— 
Observe the outer leaf of the bulb. A triangular slit will be noticed 
pointing downwards. If the slit appears white, the bulb is still immature, but 
as soon as it turns purple the crop may be harvested. Arrowroot may be left 
to stand over for two seasons, as in the case of sugar-cane. 
This latter statement is important, for it has happened that in one or two 
cases last year, when the crop was larger than the available mill-power was 
