CHAP. XXV.] 



MAKING SAGO. 



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cleared out, leaving a skin not more than half an inch in 

 thickness. This material is carried away (in baskets made 

 of the sheathing bases of the leaves) to the nearest water, 

 where a washing-machine is put up, which is composed 



SAGO WASHING. 



almost entirely of the sago tree itself. The large sheathing 

 bases of the leaves form the troughs, and the fibrous cover- 

 ing from the leaf-stalks of the young cocoa-nut the strainer. 

 Water is poured on the mass of pith, which is kneaded and 

 pressed against the strainer till the starch is all dissolved 

 and has passed through, when the fibrous refuse is thrown 

 away, and a fresh basketful put in its place. The water 



