Reports by the juries. Class IV. Animal and vegetable substances chiefly used in manufactures, as implements, or for ornaments / Richard Owen, Edward Solly, reporters.

  • Owen, Richard, Sir, 1804-1892.
Date:
[1851]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reports by the juries. Class IV. Animal and vegetable substances chiefly used in manufactures, as implements, or for ornaments / Richard Owen, Edward Solly, reporters. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    tion of sago meal, which consists chiefly of starch, is now carried on to a very con- siderable extent; Messrs. Brown and Poison appear' to have been the first to employ chemical means in bleaching or improving the colour of sago meal; and by the introduction of certain improvements in this process they succeeded in render- ing the bleached starch more perfectly soluble in water than it is in its ordinary state. The samples exhibited by Messrs. Reckitt and Son, of Hull (Class III., 125), of the same substances, are also deserving of Honourable Mention. The other samples of starch shown in the English Department are all good, and several of them indeed, judged merely for quality alone, are excellent. Some very beautiful starch, prepared from sago, is shown by R. Wotherspoon, of Glenfield, near Paisley (Class III., 124). The Jury deem these, and likewise the samples of potato starch shown by E. Tucker, of Belfast (Class III., 122), each deserving of Honourable Mention. The Jury also deem worthy of Honourable Mention, the specimens of starch shown by Messrs. Shand and Muckart, of Montrose (Class III., 126); and that of A. Stenhouse, of Perth (Class III., 154). An excellent series of specimens of starch from various sources is exhibited by Messrs. D. and W. Miller, of Musselburgh, near Edinburgh (Class III., 127). The Jury considered these, as well as the specimens of starch and dextrine shown by C. Cooney, of Dublin (70), and those of H. C. Jennings, of London (Class II., 99), severally deserving of Honourable Mention. In the collection of the Honourable East India Company there are several samples of starch suitable for manufacturing purposes, and there is little doubt that they might be prepared in any quantity, and sent over at a low price, as the Rajah of Vizianagram states that any quantity of excellent arrowroot may be had in the northern Circars for about 4s. 6cZ. per cwt. The specimen of Maranta starch, or arrowroot, of Messrs. Cockburn, of Moorshe- dabad is particularly fine, and the Jury accordingly awarded to it a Prize Medal. The Cassava starch, or fecula of the Jatropha, exhibited by Messrs. Speede, of Calcutta, was also found to be remarkably good, and the Jury accordingly awarded to it a Prize Medal. Good specimens of sago, and sago-meal or flour, obtained from the sago palm, Arenga saccharifera (Saguerus Rumphii), are contributed from Sumatra, Singa- pore, and Cuttack. Besides these, good samples of similar kinds of starch are exhibited by T. Oxley, of Singapore, from various parts of the Indian Archipelago, Borneo, Moluccas, Java, Singapore, &c., and by other individuals from Calcutta, from Assam, from Cuttack, Vizagapatam, Tenasserim provinces, Rhutnagherry, &c. Some good specimens of starches are also shown in the Ceylon Department, especially arrowroot, and the fecula of the Jatropha. From Western Africa, a fair sample of arrowroot, together with the plant from which it is obtained, is shown by Warwick Weston (1). In the Canadian collection, J. Prendergast (125) exhibits two specimens of starch, apparently prepared from wheat, one being white, and the other coloured blue, for domestic use. These are both very good, and the Jury deemed them worthy of Honourable Mention. A specimen of starch from potatoes is also shown by Brunsden and Shipton, of St. Hilaire (128). This also was deemed worthy of Honourable Mention. VoL. I. 2 B