446 



REMARKS 



O N 



T II S 



A R T S 

 AND 



SCIENCES 



or near the water, on a fmooth board," fet in an oblique direfllon. 

 A thin bivalve fliell (tellina gargadia) is the inftrument they make 

 ufe of for this purpofe, and they frequently dip the bark in the 

 -vs^ater during the operation ; the fmall narrow flips thus prepared 



are carefully fpread on plantane-leaves, to the breadth and length 

 which the piece of cloth is intended to have, or which the quantity 



\ 



of bark will admit: and 



th 



d 



they 



remain a 



whole 



i3 



ht, and from the refiduous gummofity of the bar 



the fine fil 



ments are io clofely joined, that the whole makes next day but one 

 piece, after the water is drained or evaporated. Great judgment 

 is t9 be obferved in fpreading the flips of bark, for as they are not 

 of equal thicknefs, they are often obliged to mend thofe places 

 where the bark was too thin, Thefe large pieces are carried to 

 flieds, fomewhat remote from their habitations, where the women 



join in working : 



more fit at a long, fmooth, fquare piece of 



timber, on which they beat the cloth with a fquare infl:rument of 

 heavy wood, called toa -, each of the fides of this infl:rument is 



■ 



furrowed longitudinally by clofe grooves, of different dimenfions, 

 and the fide which has the coarfefi: grooves is applied firfi: in beating, 



^ 



aind gradually the finer ones are ufed, till at the laft operation the 

 cloth is reckoned fit for ufe. This beating joins the fibres fo clofe 

 together, that the whole being dry, is really of a good confifience. 



diDugh the leafl: moifliure feems 



diffolve the wliol 



fome 



pieces 



