<).3 



of uniform width. After several days of soaking in water and 

 bleaching in the sun, each strip is separately drawn between 

 the thumb and a thin bamboo stick. By this treatment they 

 become flexible and can be wrought into any desirable shape 

 without injury to the fiber. Two plants in particular, " pandan 

 tikar " {PandiDius Saiiiak) the mat screw-pine and " pandan 

 laut " (yPandanus fascicularis), the sea-shore screw-pine are con- 

 sidered as yielding the best grade of leaves for mat- and basket- 

 weaving. Other species bearing larger and coarser leaves are 

 regarded as inferior. Of these, the " mengkuang " (P. atro- 

 carpus), an arboreal form, is commonly found in swamp)'- places. 

 The leaves of this are made into hats, and into large mats which 

 often serve for the entire sides of houses or for the covering of 

 carts. Styles and designs in weaving differ in the different 

 islands. In some places highly colored mats with red, green, 

 brown, and purple strips interwoven are to be found. The 

 dyes used are said to be chiefly of vegetable origin. A red dye 

 is extracted from the leaves of the teak, a green from the shoots 

 of the banana, while brown or chocolate color is obtained by 

 burying the strips in mud and water for several weeks. In some 

 regions where species of Pandanus abound these thick aerial 

 roots are used for corks ; sections of these roots several inches 

 in length are beaten out at one end and thus made to serve as 

 brushes. Leaf-fibers from the leaflets of the "nipah" {Nipa 

 fruticans), a low stemless palm, are woven into large shingles 

 known as " attaps." 



Fibers derived from the vascular bundles alone are obtained 

 from the leaf-stalks of a common fern, Dicranoptcris linearis. 

 After the long bundles are split out from the stalks, they are 

 drawn separately through a series of holes of gradually dim- 

 inishing sizes punctured in a piece of tin. With the strong fiber 

 thus obtained fine hats are made which are worn by the Malay 

 men at their various festivals. The stems of the bamboo, or 

 strips and fibers obtained from them, are put to a great variety of 

 uses by the natives. 



Various food-products of vegetable origin were then discussed. 

 An important starch is sago, under which name are understood 

 starches derived from se\eral kinds of palms and cycads. Most 



