FOOD, DRINK AND DELICACIES. 7 



cylindrical bamboe cases of the men; for N°. 49, PI. I, fig. 10 from Ifâr a spécial, small, or- 

 namented cylinder lias been constructed in which the instrument fits exactly and is kept 

 clean. The use is for the first beginner even more difficult than the regular fork, for exactly 

 as PLEYTE described it, the middle finger must be kept between the tongs, and must regulate 

 the spreading out according to the greater or lesser liquidity of the porridge. The part which 

 is flattened, is probably the one which is brought transversely into the mouth. 



Moreover I discovered in Humboldt Bay and on Lake Sentâni another culinary 

 utensil (N°. 50, 51, PI. I, fig. 4 and 52, PL I, fig. 9), which must be handled in a similar way, 

 also a pair of tongs, but consisting of two separate, small sticks, of a dark brown wood, 

 which are laid alongside each other, and held together, close to one of the ends, by one or 

 more narrow rings, which enables the other ends to diverge some centimeters. 



In the case of those spécimens of which the ends are shaped into points (N°. 53 and 

 54, PL I, fig. 5 from Asé) a double purpose is evidently intended, as in the case of the 

 pointed forks, namely, to be able to prick consistent food. 



Fig. 1 shows how again thèse forks are carried between the upper armlet. It may hère 

 be mentioned that MARTIN [1894, 236, PL XXIX, fig. 17] met with similar instruments amongs 

 the Alfures of Ceram (Seran), but thèse were made out of deer bone, and not pointed, there- 

 fore exclusively intended for the eating of sago-porridge (papeda). The collection of the 

 Utrecht Mission Society contains something similar under N°. 353 but made out of small 

 pièces of bamboo, unused, carelessly finished, possibly made according to spécial instructions 

 and in a great hurry, brought home by BlNK from Humboldt Bay, under the name of 

 aki. Such a bamboo spécimen I hâve never seen in use and I cannot locate the name. 

 Finally amongst the eating tongs must decidedly be placed the small instruments of which 

 the Leyden Muséum contains two (Ser. 300, N°. 231 and 232), the Amsterdam collection 

 one spécimen (Ser. 8, N°. 27 from Ansus) and which are described as ,,hairpins" and 

 , double fork-shaped hairpin". They show a variety of the last mentioned kind, which con- 

 sists in each of the tongs ending in two long points. The sloping way in which the points 

 were worn off by the contact with the inside of the sagopot, already removed ail doubt as 

 to the destination of thèse objects, but it was moreover possible to prove chemically on one 

 of them, with certainty, the présence of fecula. 



Dr. C. KERBERT, director of the society „Natura Artis Magistra", kindly allowed me 

 to take a photo of the Amsterdam spécimen (PL I, fig. 1) on the scale of 2 / 7 . 



It is really curious that of ail the eating implements named above as forks, chopsticks, tongs, etc. 

 no mention whatever is made from K. W. Land. (On a photo of Meyer and Parkinson [1900, PL 6] 

 from Mumre, I even fancy I can recognise in the left upper armlet of the third man from the left, a pair 

 of eating tongs, exactly similar to my N°. 50; the authors do not, however, mention the object). 



Hagen only States [1899, 183] that the small sticks from the hair [Le. 171] are used as forks and 

 Biro [1901, 95, fig. 44] only mentions small wooden sticks shaped like knitting needles eut from the main 

 rib of the side leaf of the cocoa-nut palm and also used as a turning spit for roasting lobster, fish, Cater- 

 pillar or beetle larva. I hâve already stated that in Asé, the scratchers from the hair N°. 232, PL VII, fig. 

 8 are also used as an eating instrument. 



The wooden or bone combs from English New Guinea similar to those in the possession of the 

 Berlin Muséum Cf. i. N°. 15 291 from the Central District) do indeed very closely resemble both in shape 

 and usefulness the forks ; especially one of thèse combs, with four prongs manufactured from the cylindrical 



