March i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



609 



THE SAGO PALM, 



Sago is nearly pure afcarcb, obtained from various 

 species of Indian Palms. In the Indian Archipelago 

 it is procured from Sagus Rumphii, Sagus lasvis, and 

 Sagus genuina ; on the Coromandel coast from Phoenix 

 farinifera; in Ceylon from Corypha umbraculifera ; 

 and in Assam from Caryota urens. These trees are 

 cut down, and from the pith filling their stems the 

 sago is extracted. The pith is thoroughly washed, 

 and from the washing, when allowed to rest, the 

 fecula or starch subsides ; this is the sago flour of 

 commerce, of which large quantities are used in the 

 manufacture of calico. When used as food it is granu- 

 lated, and known as pearl sago. Tapioca is really 

 sago in lumps,* and was so called merely because 

 the French, who introduced it from India named it 

 Sagoa-tapioca. About eight thousand tons of sago 

 are annually imported. 



Sagus Rumphii is a small tree, comparatively 

 speaking, not above 30 feet high. It is a native of 

 the Indian Archipelago, particularly of Malacca, 

 Borneo, Sumatra, Celebes, and the Moluccas. Before 

 the tree has arrived at maturity the stem consists 

 of a mere shell, about 2 inches thick, with a great 

 mass of spongy pith, becoming gradually absorbed, 

 and ultimately the stem remains hollow. At the 

 time when the pith is fully developed, and before it 

 has begun to diminish, which is indicated by the 

 superior loaves being covered with a sort of farina 

 or white dust, the tree is felled, and the trunk cut 

 into lengths of 6 or 7 feet long, which are split to 

 admit of the pith being more easily removed. The 

 pith is in the state of a coarse powder, and is mixed 

 with water in a trough having a sieve at one end ; 

 the water, loaded with farina, passes through the 

 sieve, and is received in convenient vessels, where it 

 is allowed to stand till the insoluble matter has 

 subsided. The water is then strained off, and the 

 farina which is left may be dried into a kind of 

 meal, or moulded into whatever shape may be de- 

 sired. Sago, as it comes to this country, is pre- 

 pared by forming the meal into a paste with water, 

 and rubbing it into grains ; it is produced in the 

 greatest abundance in the Moluccas, but of the finest 

 quality on the eastern coast of Sumatra. The Chinese 

 of Malacca refine it, so as to give it a tine pearly 

 lustre, and large quantities are also prepared at Sin- 

 gapore. It is said that a single tree will yield from 

 500 to GOO lb. of sago. Sago forms the principal 

 food of the natives of the Moluccas. A decoction of 

 sago fermented yields alcohol by distillation, and 

 by ascescence it forms vinegar. The fruit of this 

 Palm is the size of a hen's egg. The base of the 

 leafstalks is covered with long fibrous filaments that 

 serve to make cordage and sacking. — Journal of Hor- 

 ticulture. 



♦ 



TEA FIRING IN N. FORMOSA. 

 Each tea packing hong has a large firing room 

 attached. Small hongs have 50 to 100 fires and large 

 hongs have about 200 to 300 fires, and even more. 

 The fire places are simply circular holes, about two 

 feet in diameter, surrounded by brick facings. They are 

 arranged in rows, and are not much more than eighteen 

 inches above the floor of the room. The fire holes 

 are apart about half a foot, and on the top of these 

 circular holes or receptacles for live charcoal are 

 placed the baskets containing tea. The fires are pre- 

 pared in a simple way ; a large pile of charcoal is 

 lighted and allowed to burn till all the combustible 

 matter contained therein has disappeared, and then 

 the red hot particles are placed by the circular fire 

 places. For several hours the fires are allowed to 

 flare up and cast forth a flame and glow that few 

 men can stand for any length of time. If you enter 

 a large firing room at the time the fires are being 

 lighted it is like going into an oven, and the return 

 to the open air reminds you forcibly of the heated 

 atmosphere of Montreal hotels, where inside the 

 temperature is perhaps over 70 ° , and on going out 

 of the front door suddenly find yourself in an 



* No: it is the starch of Casmva Manioc- 

 77 



-Ed. 



atmosphere several degrees below zero. This is putting 

 it very mildly, for in a room with 300 fires the heat 

 is far more intense. It takes time for the fires to 

 settle down, and the red hot charcoal has to be broken 

 up with iron implements ; the red heat has to pene- 

 trate to the very core of the charred branches or 

 portions of trees, and when no smoke whatever issues 

 from the fire holes, the firing men place on top of 

 the embers a thick covering of ashes of paddy husk, 

 which deadens and tempers the heat to such an extent 

 that in the course of 12 or 15 hours from the time 

 the blazing lumps of charcoal were placed in the fire 

 holes it is safe to place the baskets containing tea 

 leaves over them. The baskets are cylindrical in shape, 

 about 2 feet in diameter and about 3 feet high ; 

 they are divided in two by a sieve partition and on 

 top of this sieve the tea is placed. The teas brought 

 down from the hills and tea districts have undergone 

 the sun-drying and absorbing process, have been fired 

 in an iron pan, have been twisted by hand after 

 passing through the rapid frying process and on occa- 

 sions are basket fired up-country. But the up-country 

 process of preparation is insufficient to permit of the 

 leaf being shipped away to a foreign country; it has, 

 therefore, after you have purchased it, to be "cured" 

 properly and finally at Twatutia. Every particle of 

 moisture has to be extracted in the final process, 

 previous to packing the leaf in lead-lined chests. — Indian 

 TeJ> Oazette. 



GHAUT FORESTS OP THE NILGIRIS. 



Tbere can be no doubt that Castilloa ela-stica 

 would thrive in the lower Ghaut valleys. The 

 climate, soil, and general surroundings of the forest 

 in which the caoutchouc tree is iudigenous are 

 exactly similar to that of the lower Ghaut range. 

 The point, however, which nothing but experience on 

 the spot can determine, is whether in this tract of teem- 

 ing fertility and bewildering wealth of species it caa 

 so far intrude on the closely fitting vegetative economy 

 as to conquer an independent position in the forest 

 flora. Most probably it would require some artificial 

 aid to maintain itself. Only to a limited extent could 

 we afford the latter, for the same poisonous climate 

 exists in the tracts, under discussion as in the 

 tree's new world habitat. The region is permanently 

 inhabited by aboriginal tribes, who sometimes settle 

 down into villages in healthy localities ; at other times 

 retire to the most lonely aud malarious portions of the 

 belt were they seem to be dying out. They cannot be 

 relied upon for general work, but abundant labour 

 for a portion of the year may be procured. Villages 

 with surplus labor exists on spurs of the Ghauts almost 

 overhangiug the low couotry in a cool and nonmalarious 

 climate, two or three thousand feet above the sea. 

 On such a spot the hut of the supervising officer could 

 be erected and feverstricken coolies located for change 

 of air. The whole forest region below is now pierced 

 by easy Ghaut roads at intervals of about fifty miles 

 and bridle-paths run up the accessible passes along 

 which the produce of the hills is taken to the sea. 

 In the lower Ghaut forests Oastilloa elastica would 

 find a habitat quite as suitable and unhealthy as its 

 own in America, and with a little care and culture 

 there is no doubt, it would yield at least twice the 

 amount of rubber which it now produces in its normal 

 state. Planters might do worse than turn their atten- 

 tion to this cultivation. In these tracts may be seen 

 towering trees such as grow nowhere else between the 

 two seas : ebony slowly rotting ; cardamoms, gamboge, 

 woodsoil, cinuHmon oil, resins, gums, &c. going to waste 

 and untouched. True it is diffioult to work some 

 parts of these belts; to drag heavy timber, slides 

 would have to be constructed or elephants employed. 

 Though the latter exist in large numbers in an un- 

 regeaerate state on the spot, yet in- most of the 

 acclivities, no elephant could work on a crumbling 

 foothold dropping down at an angle of 10°. Wn fail to 

 see, however, why a portion of the yvergreecn forests 

 should not be put in working order. If money for 

 forest purposes is to continuo rs scarce as it has 



