30 



CA.SE splitting them up, scraping out the cellular portion, washing it 

 32, and granulating the starch. The tree dies after flowering. 



Note in bottom of Case, Taeomba, or native sandals made of 

 the leaf sheath of Arenga sacckarifera, known in Borneo as 



the Anan. 



No. 55. Ejow, or GoMUTi fibre. The black stiff horse- 

 hair-like fibre from the bases of the leaf stalk of the Arenga. 

 It is very strong, and is used for cordage, ropes, and brushes. 



CASE Jf o. 56. Fine spadices of the Gomuti Palm. 



33 



No, 57. Spadix of Wine Palm {Caryota urens^Jj). A 



lofty palm of Malabar, Bengal, Assam, and various other parts 



of India, and found also in Ceylon. It yields from the spathes 



during the hot season a large quantity of toddy or palm wine. 



From the farinaceous portion of the trunk a kind of sago is. 



made, used by the people as food. From the bases of the 



leaves a strong, black fibre is obtained, known as Kittool fibre. 



No. 58* Samples of Kittool Fibre in the rough and 

 prepared states. This fibre, which is used in India and Ceylon 

 for making ropes, brushes, .brooms, baskets, &c., has recently 

 come much into use in England for broom-making. For 

 this purpose it is cleaned, softened by steaming, then treated 

 with linseed oil, which makes it permanently supple, and 

 finally combed. Brooms are exhibited made of this fibre. 

 CASE 111 tlie upper part of this Case is shown portions of stems and 

 34. fruits of Leopoldinia pulchra, Mart., a palm of the Eio 

 Negro, where it is called Jara, The cylindrical stems are 

 used by the people for making fences between their houses and 

 gardens. 



No. 59. PiAssABA, or Bass fibre, raw and prepared, from 

 the sheathing bases of the leaves of Leopoldinia Piassaba, 

 Wallace, a short, thick-stemmed palm of Brazil and Venezuela. 

 It furnishes the Para Piassaba of commerce so much used, 

 together with that from Bahia (see Attalea funifera, p.49) in 

 making bass brooms, specimens of which are exhibited. 



No* 60. Fruit heads of Nipa fruticans, Thb., a low 

 stemless plant growing in the salt marshes of the islands and 

 coasts of the Indian Ocean. The inside of the fruit is edible, 

 and from the spathe a juice is obtained from which sugar is 

 made, and a strong spirit is distilled, specimens of which are 

 shown. The latter is said to be largely consumed in the 



