Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/129

ARR grounds, and the latter near the sea coast, and in saline traits. As they are eaten with avidity by- sheep, for which they serve as an excellent and wholesome food, we presume strongly to recommend their culture. An additional mo- tive for die propagation of the ar- row-grass, may be suggested to the farmer and breeder of sheep ; be- cause it thrives extremely well in moist and swampy places, where few other vegetables would grow. ARROW-HEAD, Common", the Sagittaria sagittifolia, L. is one of those neglected plants, which, though growing wdd in many parts of EngLnd, especially on the banks of rivers, are not con- verted to any useful purpose : it is represented in PI. 7. English Botuvy, p. 84. The root of the arrow-head is composed of numerous strong hbres, which strike into die mud ; the foot stalks of the leaves are of a. length proportionate to the depth of tlie water in which they grow ; they are thick, fangous, and some- times three feet high. Its sharp pointed leaves resemble the. point of an arrow, and float upon the water. At the lower extremity of the root, there is always, even in its wild state, a bulb which grows in the solid clay, beneadi die muddy stratum. This esculent root is industrious- ly cultivated in China and Ame- rica, where it attains to the size of several inches in diameter ; while, in this country, of which it is a vaiiue, we surfer it to undergo spontaneous dissolution. As it constitutes a considerable part of the Chinese diet, no reason can be alledged, why it should not be re- sorted to in times of scarcity, when a poor cottager, in some ARR [ I0 5 parts of the country, might in one day, with his family, collect, a sufficient quantity of these nou- rishing and palatable roots, to serve them for a fortnight, as excellent substitutes for bread. With re- spect to the manner of dressing and preparing such vegetables, we shall give the necessary directions under the article Bread. The arrow-head requires a low, cold, marshy situation, and a clayey soil, where scarcely any odier plant would thrive. Here it grows luxuriantly, and produces an ob- long, thick, buibous root, which, from its mealy nature, may be easily converted into starch., or flour. Even in its raw and un- prepared state, it affords a proper and wholesome food for horses, goats and hogs ; though cows do not relish it. There are two me- thods of propagating this beneficial plant ; either by the wild-growing fibres of the root, or by the seed j and we earne^tiy r rcnimend its culture, from a conviction of its great utilitv. In thepresent alarm- ing crisis, we also venture to sug- gest the propriety and expediency ofmducing the industrious poor to collecf this and similar plentiful roots, and after washing, macerat- ing diem, and expressing dieir starch, to mix it with other ingre- dients, in the making of bread. If persuasion and reasoning do not avail, small premiums or rewards might be offered, to accomplish so desirable a purpose. ARROW-ROOT, Indian, or the Moi-inta, a plant oi~ which there are three species, the arundinacea, galanga, and covwsa; all of then) are herbaceous, perennial exotics of the Indies, and kept in our hot- houses merely for curiosity. The first of diese species is the true starch"