THE SAGO PALM. ; 



275 



the same course again. To assist the men the oblong sieves and the 

 granulating bag are sometimes suspended by rattans from the rafters 

 of the shed. 



The roasting takes place in a row of iron pans, each about 2 J feet 

 in diameter, which are biiilt into a platform of masonry about 15 feet 

 long and 4 feet in breadth, covered with flat tiles. The pans rest in 

 an inclined position, partly against the back of the platform, which 

 rises about a foot above the level, and partly on a small prop of brick- 

 work on the right side, an offshoot from the wall. Into the top of this 

 prop a plate is sunk in which a cloth saturated with water is kept. 

 Behind each pan is an open furnace mouth, and a man constantly 

 attends to the fires, keeping them supplied with a few billets of hakan 

 wood, and regulating them with a two-pronged iron fork, so as to 

 maintain a moderate heat. The pan being gently rubbed with the 

 cloth, a man who sits in front of it on a low stool on the platform 

 pours into it a quantity of granular sago. This he slowly stirs for a 

 short time with a wooden implement, called weah, having a sharp 

 curved edge. More sago is poured in until it amounts to about two 

 chupahs, when as it hardens he uses the weah more freely. After 

 about three minutes' roasting it is removed to a table and passed 

 through a round sieve, similar to that before described. The grains 

 that adhere to each other are thrown aside, and those that pass 

 through form a smoking heap, which is allowed to lie undisturbed for 

 about twelve hours. The grains are about the same size as they 

 were before roasting, and some retain wholly or partially their white 

 and mealy appearance, but the greater part have become translucent 

 and glutinous, and all have acquired a certain degree of toughness, 

 although still soft. The final process is another roasting, which 

 renders them hard and tough, and greatly reduces their size. The 

 pearl sago thus prepared and fit for exportation, is put away in large 

 open tins ready to be transferred to boxes or bags when sold. 



The imports of sago flour from Labuan, Borneo, Celebes, and 

 Sumatra, &c., into Singapore, were, in 



Cwts. 



1868 314,546 



1869 282,855 



1870 367,255 



The exports from Singapore have been, in piculs : 



Year. 



Sago Flour. 



Pearl Sago. 



1865 

 1866 

 1867 

 1868 

 1869 

 1870 



piculs. 

 67,782 

 74,587 

 235,864 

 218,008 

 173,820 

 154,489 



piculs. 



59,112 



67,239 



71,131 

 107,245 

 133,680 



The imports of sago have steadily increased in England since the 

 abolition of the duty which was formerly levied. 

 In 1830 the import and consumption of sago in the United King- 



T 2 



