PALM WrSK 



property, however, of being nearly indestructible in 

 water, and the Eesident tells me that this coil* will 

 probal)ly prove of much value in manufacturing tele- 

 graph-cable. The quantity of fil>re9 that could be 

 gathered yearly would be very considerable if there 

 Bhould be any demand for them. Among the flexi 

 ble, horsehair-like fibres are coai*ser ones, which the 

 natives use for pens and arrows for their blo^v^ipes^ 

 and intei*woven with them is a mass of small fibres 

 nearly as soft as cotton, which are used as tinder. 

 The flowering pm^:- is cut oft' with a knife, and the 

 sap which exudes is gathered in a piece of bamboo. 

 In this condition it has a slightly acid and very 

 bitter taste, resembles the thin part of buttermilk, 

 and is a very agreeable and refreshing beverage in 

 such a hot climate. As soon as it is allowed to fer- 

 ment it becomes iu/rkj a highly-intoxicating drink, of 

 wliicli the natives are very fond This palm prefers 

 higher lands than the cocoa-nut, which flourishes well 

 only on the low areas near the level of the sea. It 

 will be rcjidily distinguished from all the other palms 

 of this land by its large leaves and the rough ap- 

 pearance of its trunk Gomuti is the Malay name 

 for the coir only^ the tree itself they call mmu. In 

 Amboina the native name for it is Ttmoa^ and in other 

 parts of the archipelago it has local names, showing 

 that it is probably an indigenous plant. The soft 

 envelopes of the seeds, which are so nmnerous that, 

 when ripe, one bunch will frequently be a load for 

 two men, contain a poisonous juice which the natives 

 were accustomed to use on their arrows, and which 

 the Dutch have named " hell- water." 



