C H A P T E R V. 



AGRICULTURE. 



The favorite mental picture amongst ourselves of primitive man, living without cares, 

 of what his surroundings provide, is, as far as vegetable food is concerned, often confirmée! 

 in New Guinea by the extensive sago forests, growing in valleys, on the shores of lakes 

 and other marshy places, generally providing ample food for local wants. Missionaries consider 

 thèse sago forests the curse of thèse countries, as without them, the population would be forced 

 to cultivate the soil more and would become more peaceable in conséquence. In the same 

 manner as the hunting- and fishing-ground hâve been willingly or reluctantly divided between 

 the villages (see pag. 154, also KONING [1903, 265]), the same has been the case with the 

 forests of sago trees and other edible and wild growing plants. Wyatt GlLL [1885, 314] and 

 ANNUAL REPORT [1894 — 95, 38] state the same thing of British N. G.: "although growing 

 spontaneously it is regarded as private property, for every inch of land is owned". Guides of 

 the expédition looked on sadly, when the Malay carriers plucked and consumed eatable 

 My ristica-, Ar tocarp 11 s-îruit, etc. met with in the forest, because, as they said, ail thèse 

 were private property. On the tour of the expédition to the district of Sëkâ, one of the 

 accompanying people of Tobâdi told us as a very interesting peculiarity, viz. that a sago 

 forest, along which we passed, called Miâuwè, had been discovered a few years ago by him- 

 self, and that it had since been looked upon and treated by his village as private property. 

 From the communications of DE Clercq and SCHMELTZ [1893, 56 and 57], concerning the 

 gathering, transport and trade, it will be seen, how this sago is the cause of much ado. 

 At Siari I saw on the margin of the forest a boat of Wârsambô, covered with leaves, 

 the crew of which had been collecting for some weeks, in the interior of the forest, sago, for 

 consumption at home. 



The procuring of the sago out of the pith of the tree, eut down before it is going to 

 flower, takes place everywhere in New Guinea almost in exactly the same manner, as also 

 described of Ceram (Seran) by MARTIN [1894, 207]; the person operating is seated right 

 across the opened tree, as shown in fig. no, beating or cutting into pulp the pithy fibres. 

 The principal instrument is therefore no doubt the sago club of which the working end is 



