COOKING IN THE OVEN. 25 



shore and rolled up the beach^ when preparations 

 are made for a g-rand feast. The flesh is cut 

 throug-h to the ribs in thin strips, each with its 

 share of skin and blubber, then the tail is removed 

 and shced with a sharp shell as we would a round of 

 beef. The blubber is esteemed the most dehcate part ; 

 but even the skin is eaten, although it requires much 

 cooking in the oven. 



This oven is of simple construction — a number of 

 stones, the size of the fist, are laid on the ground, 

 and a fire is continued above them until they are 

 sufficiently hot. The meat is then laid upon the 

 bottom layer with some of the heated stones above 

 it, a rim of tea-tree bark banked up with sand 

 or earth is put up all round, with a quantity of 

 bark, leaves, or grass on top, to retain the steam, 

 and the process of baking goes on. This is the 

 favourite mode of cooking- turtle and dugong 

 throughout Torres Strait, and on the east coast of 

 the mainland I have seen similar fire places as far 

 south as Sandy Cape. 



A great variety of yam-like tubers are cultivated 

 in Torres Strait. Although on Murray and Darnley 

 and other thickly peopled and fertile islands a 

 considerable extent of land in small patches has 

 been brought under cultivation, at the Prince of 

 Wales Islands the cleared spots are few in number, 

 and of small extent,— nor does the latter group 

 naturally produce either the cocoa-nut or bamboo, or 

 is the culture of the banana attempted. On the main 



