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of which is probably derived from the trunk of Wetroxylon Sagu, 
the true sago palm, native of many of the islands of the Malay 
Archipelago and vicinity. This species of palm, which prefers 
damp places, sometimes attains a height of forty feet, and has a 
large, comparatively smooth trunk, bearing at the summit a crown 
of pinnate leaves. In the preparation of sago, a full-grown plant 
is selected, the palm is felled close to the ground, cut into sections 
three or four feet in length, and soaked in water for several days, 
after which the outer fibrous portion is removed. Each section 
is then ground into sawdust by a coarse grater constructed of two 
pieces of board in which are driven many small nails filed down 
to within a quarter of an inch of the wood. The sawdust is then 
thrown into a large receptacle made of coarse sacking and propped 
n poles several feet from the ground. Into this receptacle a 
native enters and tramps up and down, while an abundance of 
water is being added. Asa result of ae treatment the starch 
sinks and flows out through a small bamboo trough into a vessel 
below, leaving the woody portion floating behind. After several 
days the water is drained off and the sago meal dried, when it is 
put into bags and shipped away for refinement. 
Sugar is obtained from the sap of many plants, and is usually 
extracted by the crushing of their tissues. At the present time 
sugar-cane is one of the world’s chief sources of supply for this 
product but the sugar-beet is gradually assuming greater relative 
importance. The sugar-palm (Arenga saccharifera) and the cocoa- 
nut-palm (Cocos nucifera) are among the two principal sources of 
palm-sugar. Just before the opening of the flower-buds the 
pence of each cluster are bound together, the ends chopped 
off, and several incisions made on the lateral branches; the end 
of each cluster is then forced into the mouth of a receptacle 
made from the stems of the bamboo. In this manner many palms 
are treated in a single morning. At intervals of twenty-four 
hours the native returns to the palms, empties the pails of their 
contents, and, after replacing them, carries the sap away to be 
boiled down, when it is made into small cakes, wrapped in leaves 
and sold in the market. 
Masticatories are frequently indulged in by both sexes through- 
