The imports in the last few years have been in
| Cwt. | |
| 1847 | 8,040 |
| 1848 | 10,580 |
| 1849 | 9,252 |
| 1850 | 15,980 |
| 1851 |
About 500 cwt. are re-exported.
East India arrowroot is procured in part from Curcuma angustifolia, known locally as Tikoor in the East, and a similar kind of starch is yielded by C. Zerumbet, C. rubescens, C. leucorhiza, and Alpinia Galanga, the Galangale root of commerce. C. angustifolia grows abundantly on the Malabar coast, and is cultivated about the districts of Patna, Sagur and the south-west frontier, Mysore, Vizigapatam, and Canjam, Cochin and Tellicherry. It was discovered but a few years ago growing wild in the forests extending from the banks of the Sona to Nugpore.
The particles of East India arrowroot are very unequal in size, but on the average are larger than those of West India arrowroot.
Dr. Taylor, in his Topography of Dacca, speaks of fecula or starch being obtained from the Egyptian lotus (Nymphæa lotus), which is used by the native practitioners as a substitute for arrowroot.
Chinese arrowroot is said to be made from the root of Nelumbium speciosum.
The original Indian arrowroot is extracted at Travancore, according to Ainslie, from the root of the Curcuma angustifolia. It is easily distinguished by its form, which is sometimes ovoid, sometimes elongated, of considerable size, rounded at one of the extremities, and terminating in a point at the other, often resembling a grain of rice.
The manufacture of arrowroot on the southern borders of the Everglades, at Key West, Florida, bids fair to become as extensive and as profitable as at Bermuda, whence, at present, we receive the bulk of our supplies. The wild root, which the Indians call Compti, grows spontaneously over an immense area of otherwise barren land. It is easily gathered, and is first peeled in large hoppers ingeniously contrived, and thrown into a cylinder and ground into an impalpable pulp. It is then washed and dried in the sun, baked and broken into small lumps, when it is ready for the market. The article is extensively used in the Eastern woollen and cotton establishments, as well as for family use. Arrowroot is cultivated in the interior of East Florida with great success. It is also cultivated to a considerable extent in Georgia, and is, I understand, a profitable crop.
The following is the process of manufacture:—The roots, when a year old, are dug up, and beaten in deep wooden mortars to a pulp; which is then put into a tub of clean water, well washed, and the fibrous part thrown away. The milky liquor being passed through a sieve or coarse cloth, is suffered to settle, and the clean water is drawn off; at the bottom of the vessel is a white mass, which is again mixed with clean water, and drained; lastly the mass is dried in the sun, and is pure starch. Arrowroot can be kept without spoiling for a very long time.