MISCELLANEOUS ECONOMIC PRODUCTS 



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three years in ripening, but, as has been stated, propagation is easy 

 and best from suckers. To obtain the sago, the tree is felled when 

 it commences to Mower (which is usually at about the age of 

 10 years), the farinaceous matter in the stem being then in its best 

 state of development ; the trunk is cut into pieces of 3 or 4 ft. long 

 and these are split in two. The farinaceous substance is then 



Metroxylon Sugn. SAGO PALM OF MALAYA. 



extracted and reduced to a powder, which is mixed with water and 

 strained through a sieve. The water being allowed to stand, the 

 starch settles in the bottom, when the water is poured oft, and the 

 starch thoroughly washed and afterwards dried. This forms sago 

 meal, which is made into granulated sago by mixing with water to 

 form a paste, being then rubbed through sieves to cause granu- 

 lation, after which it is dried in ovens or in the sun. The process 



