Edible Products'. 



234 



[September, 1911. 



THE SUGAR-PALM OP THE EAST 

 INDIES. 



By J. C. K. 



(From the Louisiana Planter and Sugar 

 Manufacturer, Vol. XLVIL, No. 26, 



July 1, 1911.) 

 The sugar-palm (Arenga saccharitera 

 of botanists) grows abundantly in all 

 the Dutch East Indian islands, and pro- 

 vides the natives not only with a fer- 

 mented beverage termed sagueiro, but 

 with sugar, cordage for the rigging of 

 praus and material for caulking them, 

 and brooms for sweeping. The palm is 

 called pokko gamutu by the Malays, 

 and plenty of the trees are always 

 found in the neighbourhood of the 

 villages. One of the commonest daily 

 sights in a Malay village is the bringing 

 home, slung over the shoulder, of the 

 large bark buckets full to the brim of 

 sagueiro, the liquid frothing on the top 

 and of a milk-white colour, its fluidity 

 also resembling that of milk. The palm 

 itself is a fine though rather rough-look- 

 ing tree, bearing huge bunches of fruit 

 composed of large orange-coloured ber- 

 ries, the male inflorescence being then 

 over, but the withered remains form 

 similar large bunches of whatatfirstsight 

 look like strings of small dark purple or 

 black berries. It is the stalk of the 

 male inflorescence only which is tapped 

 for the sap, and as the bunch is very 

 heavy and also bears the weight of the 

 sagueiro bucket, it is generally support- 

 ed against the trunk by a stout prop. 

 The palms produce fruit more or less 

 throughout the year. 



When about to tap the tree, the native 

 usually climbs up by means of a long 

 bamboo lashed against the trunk of the 

 palm, just the bases of the bamboo 

 boughs being left to form rungs or steps. 

 He then bruises the flower-stalk with a 

 heavy wooden pestle on all sides and 

 from end to end, likewise swaying and 

 twisting the bunch to loosen and dis- 

 integrate the fibres of the stem, or 

 " make the sap flow," as the native 

 says. Then a small nick is cut on 

 the underside of the stem and a bucket 

 is slung below, the tapping is done in 

 the evening as a rule, and the sap 

 trickles into the bucket all night, some- 

 times producing fifteen litres, or a little 

 over three gallons by the time the native 

 fetches the bucket in the early morning. 

 During the day (say the natives) the 

 sap practically ceases to flow, and when 

 the bucket is taken away a leaf is tied 

 around the wound in the stem to pre- 

 vent the sap from dripping. Sometimes 

 if there is not much sagueiro in the 



bucket it is left for another night on 

 the palm, and a mass of bast from the 

 leaf -sheaths is put over its mouth during 

 the day to keep out the sun, rain and 

 insects, for there is always some slight 

 drip from the buckets, and these and 

 the jungle beneath are usually swarm- 

 ing with insects, all eager to lick up the 

 sweet juice. Flies, bees, and wasps are 

 the most numerous, but many beetles 

 and butterflies are attracted ; it is in the 

 sagueiro buckets that the large beetle 

 with extraordinary long forelegs (Euchi- 

 rus longimanus) is frequently found by 

 the natives of Ceram and Ambon, hav- 

 ing fallen in whilst drinking the sap. 

 One flower-stalk will often give sap for 

 two to six months, and as one stalk fails 

 another comes to maturity ; the life 

 of a palm being tapped regularly is said 

 to be fifteen to twenty years. Occasion- 

 ally cne may observe a wasted and 

 blackened palm which has been bled to 

 death by tapping. The sagueiro is 

 either drunk fresh, when it has a 

 sweetish taste, or more often small 

 pieces cut from the living roots of a large 

 tree, heavy and very bitter wood of a 

 brightism yellow colour, are put into the 

 liquid. This makes a very refreshing 

 drink on a hot day, and is sold very 

 cheaply at all the wayside huts and 

 villages. It is quite possible to become 

 inebiiated with fermented saguerio or 

 "palm-wine" if large potations are 

 indulged in, though one but rarely 9ees 

 a tipsy native. Nor does it produce the 

 fighting and quarrelling that beer and 

 spirits provoke, and these intoxicants 

 are strictly prohibited by the Dutch 

 Government from being supplied to the 

 natives. 



The sagueiro buckets are large, about 

 eighteen inches deep, and roughly about 

 ten in diameter, and are made of the 

 inner part of the leaf-sheath of the 

 ever-useful sago-palra. A long rect- 

 angular piece of sufficient length to form 

 the two sides and the bottom of the 

 bucket, and broad enough to make the 

 desired diameter is shaved down till it is 

 about an eighth of an inch thick, and is 

 softened by soaking in water ; four slight 

 cuts, forming a lozenge or diamond, are 

 made at mid-length, the two ends are 

 bent up to form the sides of the bucket, 

 and their edges are thrust into two 

 pieces of bamboo, which each have a 

 slot cut from the top to within a few 

 inches of the bottom. Then a long 

 wooden rod or wedge is driven down the 

 interior of each bamboo, between the 

 edges of the bucket sides. To keep the 

 shape better, four or five rings of 

 " gaba-gaba " or split leaf rib of the 

 sago-palm are often put at intervals in 



