On the arrow-root of Bermuda / [Charles Cogswell].

  • Cogswell, Charles, 1813-1892.
Date:
[1845]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the arrow-root of Bermuda / [Charles Cogswell]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    a most esteem in Bermuda. Touching the root and its manufacture, every information in their power was afforded by intelligent per¬ sons engaged in the cultivation; upon whose explanation of spe¬ cimens picked out of heaps upon the ground, and the examination of some that were sent to my place of abode, the following descrip¬ tion is founded. Figure 1 is a drawing made from na¬ ture, of one of the simplest forms which the plant presented, a, the herbaceous stem, 5, b: b, the jointed root, c, c, £, root¬ lets. We shall suppose a piece, comprising several of the lowermost joints, to have been broken off and deposited in the soil. From the side of one or more of the joints proceeds a shoot, which extends itself by the development of new joints, and throws out leaves which ascend to the height of two, three, or four feet. After the lapse of a stated time, that is, eight or nine months, the plant has arriv¬ ed at maturity; the leaf withers, and the root prepares to propagate a new growth. It is now capable of yielding the fecula. But if allowed to remain much longer in the ground than is requisite for its own perfection, the simple form ceases to ex¬ ist, in consequence of the addition of a young progeny of future plants, in the form of tubers also yielding fecula; and a degree of complexity prevails, which af¬ fords equal support to both parties who argue in favour of one or the other as the source of arrow-root. That the question is one of some mystery, is evident, from the conflicting opinions even of persons practically conversant with the subject. The difficulty may in part arise from the circumstance of the sea¬ sons of harvest and planting being in fact so blended with each other, that no sooner is the vegetable prepared to multiply its kind, than it can proceed without interruption, so far as the cli¬ mate is concerned. Such as above stated, at least, is the convic¬ tion impressed upon my mind, both from hearing and observation; and which is now to be submitted, whether for confirmation or disproof, to those who may have still greater practical opportuni¬ ties of arriving at the truth. See Figure 1, where e is a young shoot coming out from the rootstock at an angle, and ff are buds like the eyes of a potatoe in an incipient state of development.