176' CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



comb, but of a pale buff-colour, inclining to 

 brown, which gives a lustre to the fruit, 

 beautifully contrasting these colours with the 

 dark rich feather-like leaves. 



Among the singularities of this plant or 

 tree in its native soil, is its slow growth at 

 first, when it appears as a mere shrub, so 

 thickly set with thorns as to keep off all in- 

 trusion; but as soon as the stem is formed, 

 its increase is rapid, until it has reached 

 about thirty feet in height, and six feet in 

 circumference. During this rapid expansion 

 it imperceptibly loses its thorns. When 

 the tree has reached its maturity, a whitish 

 powder transpires through the pores of the 

 leaves, and adheres to their extremities. On 

 this intimation of their being filled with pith, 

 the Malays cut them down near the root, 

 and divide them into several sections, which 

 are then split into quarters. The bark, which 

 is ligneous, is not often more than an inch in 

 thickness, and the entire body of the tree is 

 filled with a multitude of fibres, interwoven 

 one with another, enclosing in the centre 

 the fat or gummy pith, which forms the Sago 

 as brought to us. This pithy substance, be- 

 ing scooped out of the quarters, is diluted in 

 pure water, and then strained through a bag 



