317 



transparent, and is seen at tlic bases of the youug 

 ttmAa ; hxt 0$ tife fiH>nd attains matuiity, tlii» 

 ttaturitl malimg beccynt^ ^oas^ser and toughs mi 

 chniig'os to a In-own colour ;* it may be stripped 

 otr tilt' trr(» ill Lii'OT ]Hcct'?, wliicli arc nscd in 

 Ceylou as strainers, particularly tor the toddy, 

 whicli is usually Ml of impurities wlien recently 

 taken S^m the trae^ a$ ai^^tzi^ atimsts itt^ 

 sects innunicraljle. In most countries which I 

 liave visited, where tliis valiialile tree h pro- 

 duced, this portion of it is used for a similar pur- 

 pose. At the island of Tahiti (Otaheite) it is 

 called Aa ; and besidea hmig os^d aa aievas 

 for straining araraw-root, cocoa-nut oil, &c», tte 

 natives^ wheii ©ogaged in such occupations as 



* 'J here is a kind of seam along the centre, exactly under 

 t]|«^ Ito isf tbe leaf; ^r«im h&&k sided iSf bng wad 



tOXl^ fibres, about the si?:c of a bristle, regularly diverge in 

 ap ^sljlique direction; sometimes there appear to be two 

 Ifl^ey* «f i^limj^dtldt dptt8» ^ch ether, and tib wliole h 

 ccnu'ntcd with a still finir, fibrous, and adhesive substancie. 

 The length and evenness of the threads, or fibres, the regttbtv 

 mma&t 'm wMeh they cross meh <*th€r at oHiqu* angles* 



the iNltrit of" surface, and the thickness of the piece, cor- 

 responding with that of coar$e cotton cloth, the siitgular 

 mfmitr itl iv^idt tlie lilt^^ ^ attddied td eirdi dth^, 

 eatlse this curious substoneer woven in tlie loom of nature, 

 to present to the eye a remarkable resemblance to cloth 

 spun and woven by human ingenuity. — Bl&St vol. i. p. 50. 



