West Indies The starch is It has been "Arrowroot is a very pure starch, prepared in the from the roots of the Marantha arundinacea and indica. contained in the tubers, in numerous very minute cells. cultivated with the greatest success upon the Hopewell estate, in the island St. Vincent, where it often grows to the height of three feet, and sends out tap-roots to the depth of eighteen inches; the preparation is as follows:-'The carefully skinned tubers are washed, then ground in a mill, and the pulp washed in tinned copper cylindrical washing-machines. The fecula is subsequently dried in drying-houses. In order to obtain the fecula free from impurity, pure water must be used, and great care and attention paid in every step of the process. The skinning or peeling of the tubers must be performed with great nicety, as the cuticle contains a resinous matter, which imparts color and a disagreeable flavor to the starch. German-silver palettes are used for skinning the deposited fecula, and shovels of the same metal are used for packing the dried fecula. The drying is effected in pans covered by white gauze, to exclude dust and insects.' (Pereira.) I. 4.4838 grm. lost at 100° C. 0.7404 grm. II. 3.6005 grm. dried at 100° C. left 0.0077 grm. ash. III. 0.3978 grm. gave 0.6325 grm. CO2 and 0.2286 grm. HO. Sago is a variety of starch extracted from the pith of palms, many species of which are capable of yielding it. Amongst these are Sagus Rumphii, Cicas inermis and revoluta, Coryota urens, Borassus Gomato, and several species of Zamia, Corypha, and Mauritia. The starch is obtained from the pith, which constitutes nearly the entire body of the stem of these palms. A single stem is said to yield three cwt. of sago. The stem is cleft open, and the starch collected, washed upon sieves, and purified by elutriation with water in vats; the granulation is performed by forcing the starch through sieves in such a manner that the lumps shall fall upon a hot plate of copper. Each lump is converted into paste, the granules of starch swell up and dry into the irregular, roundish masses, about the size of small shot, which constitute the sago in its market condition. "Sago is sometimes fraudulently imitated with potato-starch, but this 'The essential has a greater tendency to become pasty when boiled. property of sago consists in its swelling up in hot water or soup without melting, the separate little lumps remaining entire, and forming translucent, stiffly gelatinous, but not slimy globules. Six varieties of sago are distinguished by Planche.' (Knapp.) I. 3.118 grm. lost at 100° C. 0.4001 grm. II. 2.5906 grm. dried at 100° C. left 0.005 grm. ash. grm. HO. III. 0.3791 grm. gave 0.6052 grm. CO, and 0.2128 grm. HO. Water not expelled at 100° C. {Hydrogen 0.26 2.08 2.34 "No. VI. WHEAT-STARCH. "This was introduced chiefly for the sake of comparing it with the other starches. All the principal facts regarding its manufacture are too well known to require enumeration. I. 2.3346 grm. lost at 100° C. 0.2634 grm. II. 1.8624 grm. dried at 100° C. left 0.0098 grm. ash. III. 0.3758 grm. gave 0.6062 grm. CO2 and 0.2165 grm. HO. "No. VII. RICE FLOUR. I. 1.5265 grm. lost at 100° C. 0.2139 grm. II. 1.2604 grm. dried at 100° C. left 0.0063 grm. ash. III. 0.4318 grm. gave 0.6924 grm. CO2 and 0.2477 grm. HO. Estimated according to the formula as before, we obtain Water not expelled at 100° C. {Hydrogen 0.29 Ash 2.32 2.61 0.49 99.81 |