[Mr. Andrew Mathews, of Lima, has communicated to the _Gardeners'
Magazine_ the following account of the Otaheitan method of preparing
the excellent farinaceous substance termed _Arrow Root_, so
extensively used in this country.]
The root (_Tacca_ pinnatifida _Lin._, the _Pea_ of the natives) grows
in the greatest abundance in all the islands which we visited; viz.,
in Otaheite, Eimeo, Huaheine, Raiatea, and Otaha. Its favourite
situation is on the sides and ridges of the hills which rise directly
from the sea, and which are generally covered with a coarse grass, on
a red sandy loam. The root is round, white, smooth, full of eyes like
a potato, and from 2 to 3 in. in diameter. The flower-stem rises
directly from the root, simple; from 2 to 4 ft. in height, as thick as
a man's finger, bearing its flowers in a loose simple umbel on the
summit; and, when large and full blown, it presents a beautiful and
delicate appearance. The leaf is large, tri-pinnatifid, segments
acute, of a rich shining green: it is subject to great variation in
the size of the segments, some leaves being much more cut, and having
the segments narrower, than others. When a sufficient quantity of the
roots is collected, they are taken to a running stream, or to the
sea-beach, and washed; the outer skin is carefully scraped off at the
same time with a shell; and those who are particular in the
preparation scrape out even the eyes. The root is then reduced to a
pulp, by rubbing it up and down a kind of rasp, made as follows:--A
piece of board, about 3 in. wide, and 12 ft. long, is procured, upon
which some coarse twine, made of the fibres of the cocoa nut husk, is
tightly and regularly wound, and which affords an admirable substitute
for a coarse rasp. The pulp, when prepared, is washed first with salt
or sea water, through a sieve made of the fibrous web which protects
the young frond of the cocoa-nut palm; and the starch, or arrow-root,
being carried through with the water, is received in a wooden trough
made like the small canoes used by the natives. The starch is allowed
to settle for a few days; the water is then strained, or, more
properly, poured off, and the sediment rewashed with fresh (or river)
water. This washing is repeated three times with spring water; after
which the deposit is made into balls of about 7 or 8 in. in diameter,
and in this state dried in the sun for twelve or twenty-four hours.
The balls are then broken, and the powder spread for some days in the
sun to dry; after which it is carefully wrapped in _tapa_ (the native
cloth), and put into baskets, and hung up in the houses. The natural
indolence of the people is so great, and their avarice such, that but
few of them will give the arrow-root sufficient time to dry, if they
have an opportunity of parting with it, which I suspect was the case
with that sent to England some few years back by the missionaries. So
abundant is the root, that several tons might be prepared annually by
proper management: as it is, there is a considerable quantity
prepared; it being not only eaten by the natives and strangers on the
island, but also by the crews of the vessels that touch there.
At present, when the roots are taken up, the only precaution used to
secure a crop the following year is to throw the smaller roots back
into the holes from which they were taken, and to leave them to
chance. I have no doubt that, with proper care and cultivation, any
quantity might be produced. When we visited the island, we purchased
the prepared arrow-root at _2d._ per lb., and a missionary there
informed us, that he would engage to procure any given quantity at
_1-1/2d._ per lb., which is, I believe, much less than it can be
purchased at either in the East or the West Indies. Its quality is
excellent; I should say equal to that of the East Indies, and far
superior to that of Chile, with which I have since my return, had an
opportunity of comparing it.
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