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.

A considerable quantity of arrowroot is now produced in the Sandwich Islands.  In 1841 arrowroot to the value of 3,320 dolls. was shipped, and in 1843, 35,140 lbs., valued at L1,405, was exported, principally to Tepic and San Blas, where it is used as starch for linen.

A kind of arrowroot of very good quality was sent to the Great Exhibition of 1851, by Sir R. Schomburgk, which is obtained in St. Domingo from the stems of a species of Zamia, called there Guanjiga; and the Zamia Australis, of Western Australia, yields even better fecula.  The taste was unpleasant and salt, as if it had been immersed in lime.  The other starch, from the Western Australian Zamia, in quality rivalled arrowroot.  This fecula hangs together in chains, quite unlike the ordinary appearance of arrowroot when seen under the microscope.

The following figures show the exports of arrowroot from Bermuda:—­

lbs.       Value of the exports.
1830      18,174              —­
1831      77,153              —­
1832      34,833              —­
1833      44,651              —­
1834      54,471              —­
1835      65,500              —­
1836        —­                —­