THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
15 
described. On the discovery of a well-grown promising 
individual, it is felled flush with the ground and divested 
of its fronds as well as of the dry outer layers of its annu- 
larly furrowed stem. It is then carried to the home of the 
operator where he proceeds to cut away all the remaining 
part of the stem except the innermost cylindrical axis. This 
delicate core is now carefully sliced into thin oval or circu- 
lar discs which are spread upon mats and dried in the sun. 
When quite crisp, they are pounded into flour which is 
thereafter sifted and mixed in water. The resultant mess 
is then poured into a pot and allowed to stand until the 
starchy substance is deposited at the bottom and sides of the 
vessel. The clear liquid above the deposit is now drained 
off and the precipitate itself, while yet fresh, rolled about 
between boards until it resolves itself in the spherical pellets 
that are known as sago. These pellets, on drying and par- 
tial steaming, are passed through sieves that are graduated 
variously for the several grades, such as bullet sago, pearl 
sago and the like. The majority of the Indian manufac- 
turers, however, are content with the production of the 
amorphous meal which, after desiccation, is stored up for 
use. The elimination of the starchy farina from the seeds 
proceeds upon principles that are more or less identical 
with its extraction from the stem of the plant. In some lo- 
calities, the fragrant ripe fruit is picked and dried until the 
yellow pericrap shrivels and cracks. The hard endocarp 
is then broken up and the kernel, while fresh, pounded and 
mixed with water. In other parts of the country the mature 
but unripe fruit is split into halves along the sutures of the 
endocarp and dried until the kernel shrinks and separates 
from it, after which it is treated in the usual manner. 
The yield of dry sago from an average sized stem of 
about four feet in length and two in circumference amounts 
to about five pounds. The quantity of farinaceous material 
