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The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

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290 THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. [chap.or thatch in universal use, while <strong>the</strong> product <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trunk is <strong>the</strong>staple food <strong>of</strong> some hundred thousands <strong>of</strong> men.When sago is to be made, a full-grown tree is selected justbefore it is going to flower. It is cut down close to <strong>the</strong> ground,<strong>the</strong> leaves and leaf-stalks cleared away, and a broad strip <strong>of</strong>SAGO CLUB.<strong>the</strong> bark taken <strong>of</strong>f" <strong>the</strong> upper side <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trunk. This exposes<strong>the</strong> pithy matter, which is <strong>of</strong> a rusty colour near <strong>the</strong> bottom <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> tree, but higher up pure white, about as hard as a dryapple, but witli woody fibres running througli it about a quarter<strong>of</strong> an inch apart. This pith is cut or broken down into a coarseSAGO WASHING.powder by means <strong>of</strong> a tool constructed for <strong>the</strong> purpose—a club<strong>of</strong> hard and heavy wood, having a piece <strong>of</strong> sharp quartz rockfirmly embedded into its blunt end, and projecting about halfan inch. By successive blows <strong>of</strong> this, narrow strips <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pithare cut away, and fall down into <strong>the</strong> cylinder formed by <strong>the</strong>bark. Proceeding steadily on, <strong>the</strong> whole trunk is cleared out

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