BRITISH BORNEO. 55 
even succumbing altogether to the poison. 
The large fish are secured by spearing, amid much excite- 
ment, the eager sportsmen often overbalancing themselves 
and falling headlong into the water to the great amusement 
of the more lucky ones. I remember reading an account of 
a dignified representative of Her Majesty once joining in the 
sport and displaying a pair of heels in this way to his admir- 
ing subjects. The ¢uéda does not affect the flesh of the fish, 
which is brought to the table without any special preparation. 
The principal export from Brunai is sago flour. The sago 
palm is known to the natives under the name of rumdzah, 
the pith, after its first preliminary washing, is called /aman- 
tah (¢.e., raw), and after its preparation for export by the Chi- 
nese, sagu. The botanical name is Wetroxylon, M. Lzvts 
being that of the variety the trunk of which is unprotected, and 
M. Rumphi that of the kind which is armed with long and 
strong spikes, serving to ward off the attacks of the wild pigs 
from the young palm. 
This palm is indigenous in the Malayan Archipelago and 
grows to the height of twenty to forty feet, in swampy land 
along the banks of rivers not far from the sea, but out of 
the reach of tidal influences. A plantation once started goes 
“on for ever,’ with scarcely any care or attention from the 
proprietor, as the palm propagates itself by numerous off-shots, 
which take the place of the parent tree when it is cut down 
for the purpose of being converted into food, or when it dies, 
which, unlike most other palms, it does after it has once 
flowered and seeded, z.e., after it has attained the age of ten 
or fifteen years. 
It can also be propagated from the seed, but these are often 
unproductive. 
If required for food purposes, the sago palm must be cut 
down at its base before it begins to flower, as afterwards the 
pith or farzna becomes dried up and useless. The trunk is 
then stripped of its leaves and, if it is intended to work it up 
at its owner’s house, it is cut into convenient lengths and 
floated down the river; if the pith is to be extracted on the 
spot the trunk is split in two, longitudinally, and is found to 
