THE SAGO PALM. 
63 
plant. The Laplander has ]xm reindeer, the Esquiinaux 
his seal, the Sandwich Islander his taro-root; and thus 
also we find the natives of n 
great part of the Indian Ai-chi- 
pelago depending for their sub- 
sistence npon the pith of the 
Sago palm. This tree, which is 
of such great importance to the 
indolent Malay, as it almost en- 
tirely relieves him of the neces- 
sity of laliour, grows at first 
very slowly, and is covered with 
t ho m s . A s soon , h 0 we ver 5 fis t he 
stem is once formed^ it shoots 
upwards n'ith such rapidity thai 
it speedily attains its full height 
often yards, with a girth of liv^ 
or sU feetj losing in this stage its thorny accompaniments. 
The crown is larger and thicker than that of the cocoa-nut 
tree | the efflorescence colossal, forming an immense bunch, 
