ARROWROOT. A large proportion of the edible starches obtained from the rhizomes or root-stocks of various plants are known in commerce under the name of arrowroot. Properly the name should be restricted to the starch yielded by two or three species of _Maranta_ (nat. ord. Marantaceae), the chief of which is _M. arundinacea_; and when genuine or West Indian arrowroot is spoken of, it is understood that this is the variety meant. _Maranta arundinacea_ is probably a native of Guiana and western Brazil, but it has long been cultivated in the West Indian Islands, and has now spread to most tropical countries. The plant is a herbaceous perennial with a creeping root-stock which gives off fleshy cylindrical branches or tubers, covered with pale brown or white scales and afterwards ringed with their scars. It is at the period when these tubers are gorged with starch, immediately before the season of rest, that it is ripe for use. In addition to about 25% of starch, the tubers contain a proportion of woody tissue, vegetable albumen and various salts. The arrowroot may be separated on a small scale in the same manner as potato-starch is frequently prepared, that is, by peeling the root and grating it in water, when the starch falls to the bottom. The liquor is then drained off, and the starch purified by repeated washings till it is ready for drying. On a large scale the manufacture of arrowroot is conducted with specially arranged machinery. The rhizomes when dug up are washed free of earthy impurities and afterwards skinned. Subsequently, according to Pereira's _Materia Medica_, "the carefully skinned tubers are washed, then ground in a mill, and the pulp washed in tinned-copper cylindrical washing-machines. The fecula (dim. of Lat. _faex_, dregs, or sediment) 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 colour and a disagreeable flavour to the starch. German-silver palettes are used for skinning the deposited fecula, and shovels of the same metal for packing the dried fecula. The drying is effected in pans, covered with white gauze to exclude dust and insects." [Illustration: FIG. 1. FIG. 2. Arrowroot Plant (Maranta arundinacea).--Fig. 1, stem, leaves and flowers; fig. 2, tubers.]