2Q CULTUEE OF THE YAM. 



land ag-aiii I never saw the slig-litest attempt at 

 g'ardening*. 



The principal 3"am^ or that known by the names of 

 kutai and kefai, is the most important article of veg"e- 

 table food^as it lasts nearly throug'hout the dry season. 

 Forming" a yam g'arden is a very simple operation. 

 No fencing- is required^ — the patch of gTound is 

 strewed with branches and \\'ood^ which when 

 thoroug-hty dry are set on fire to clear the surface^ — 

 the gTound is loosely turned up with a sharpened 

 sticky and the cut pieces of yam are planted at 

 irregular intervals^ each with a small pole for the 

 plant to climb up. These operations are completed 

 just before the commencement of the wet season^ or 

 in the month of October. 



When the rains set in the biyu becomes the prin- 

 cipal support of the Cape York and Muralug" people. 

 This is a g're}^ slimy paste procured from a species of 

 mang-rove (Candelia ?) the sprouts of which^ three or 

 four inches long*^ are first made to underg-o a process 

 of baking- and steaming'- a larg-e heap being- laid 

 upon heated stones^ and covered over with bark^ wet 

 leaves^and sand— after which they are beaten between 

 two stones^ and the pulp is scraped out fit for use. 

 It does not seem to be a favourite food^ and is 

 probably eaten from sheer necessity. Mixed up 

 with the Myu to render it more palatable they 

 sometimes add larg-e quantities of a leg-uminous seed, 

 the size of a chestnut^ which has previously been 

 soaked for a nig-ht in water^ and the husk removed, 



