Locality and Site 31 



great resistance, and though it will bend and 

 never recover its upright position, yet it does 

 not break. 



It has been truly said that not a particle of 

 the coco-nut tree is without its uses in some 

 fashion or other, yet a use for the trunk in 

 native economics is hard to find, for only a 

 few narrow boards, that do not last too long, 

 can be cut from the outer layers of it, whilst 

 the interior is no use for timber. With the 

 other parts it is quite a different matter, all of 

 them enter very largely into domestic use. 

 The fronds of the leaves are used in various 

 ways, but principally for making "attaps." 

 These are the fronds bent double over 4 ft. 

 sticks and laced through. They are then used 

 to make the roof of the house, as well as for 

 the walls, the interior partitions, the windows, 

 doors and fences. 



In a green state the leaves are woven into 

 baskets so closely that rice is cooked in them, 

 and they are also used for ropes. The mid- 

 ribs of the leaves are used for utensils and 

 fishing-gear and the most pleasantly remem- 

 bered use is for spearing whitebait upon for a 

 roast and for a " sarteh " (bits of pork and fowl 

 and venison strung upon these ribs, and then 

 dipped into chili-sauce and grilled). 



The stem of the leaf enters largely into 

 house construction, fencing and bridging, and 

 short pieces of the butt are used for floats 

 on nets. It would take pages to describe 



