276 



THE BASTARD SAGO. 



dom was only 3,000 cwt. ; in 1841 it was 52,000 cwt. ; in 1850, 90,000 

 cwt.; in 1860, 179,825 cwt.; in 1870, 280,047 cwt., of the value of 

 218,400Z. ; in 1875, 360,357 cwt. of sago and sago flour, of the value 

 of 273,913Z. 



The following figures give the imports of sago into the United 

 Kingdom from the Straits Settlements alone : 





Cwts. 





Cwts. 



1862 .. . 



165,635 



1869 ,, . 



.. 268,978 



1863 



,, 123,870 



1870 , , 



, 268,666 



1864 .. , 



.. 111,423 



1871 .. . 



.. 227,766 



1865 ,. , 



, 106,409 



1872 .. . 



288,862 



1866 .. , 



.. 151,788 



1873 ,, , 



,. 279,766 



1867 ,. . 



,, 142,844 



1874 



, -300,299 



1868 .. . 



.. 241,800 







The chief uses of sago are for feeding stock, making starch, and by 

 the cocoa manufactui'ers for grinding up and giving thickness to their 

 product when consumed. 



The Bastaed Sago {Caryota wens) is a native of the mountainous 

 regions of India, especially in the Coromandel and Malabar coasts, 

 and in Travancore, Mysore, and Ceylon. It is one of the largest and 

 most charming of this beautiful tribe, having a straight trunk from 

 40 to 60 feet high. Sugar and toddy wine are both prepared from 

 the sap of this palm, which is cultivated by the people for those 

 uses. The best trees will yield 100 pints of sap in twenty-four 

 hours; and it is on account of this productiveness that it is so 

 much valued. The sugar and wine are obtained much in the same 

 way as from the juice of other palms. 



Sago is prepared from the pith, and is either made into bread or 

 boiled as a thick gruel. According to Dr. Roxburgh, "the pith 

 or farinaceous part of the trunk of old trees is said to be equal to 

 the best sago .... I have reason to believe this substance to be 

 highly nutritious. I have eaten the gruel, and think it fully as 

 palatable as that made from the sago we get from the Malay 

 countries." * This sago is found to be an efficient substitute for 

 the staple food of the countries where it is produced, during periods 

 of famine. 



A fibre is prepared from the leaves of this palm, which is used for 

 fishing lines and bowstrings. Commercially, it is known as kittool 

 fibre and Indian gut in the English market. It is strong and durable ; 

 though it will resist the action of water for a long time, it is 

 yet apt to snap if suddenly bent or knotted. It is now used in 

 brush making. During late years the trade in this staple in England 

 has been small for want of stock ; the price in London in Jan. 1877 

 was for good, lid. to Is. Id. per lb. ; ordinary, S^d. to 9^d. ; common, 

 5d. to 7d. In Ceylon the split trunks are used as rafters, and 

 are found very hard and durable. The fibre of the leaf-stalks is 

 made into ropes, and used for tying wild elephants. The woolly 

 substance found at the bottom of the leaves is employed occasionally 

 for caulking ships. According to Buchanan, the trunks of this palm 



* Roxburgh's ' Flora ludica,' vol. iii. p. 626. 



