ON MATICO. 
109 
ficient to cover the whole surface of the infusion, is now put 
in by one of those who sit by the side of the bowl, and it 
floats upon the surface. The man who manages the bowl 
now begins his difficult operation. In the first place, he ex- 
tends his left hand to the further side of the bowl, with the 
fingers pointing downwards, and the palm towards himself; 
he sinks that hand carefully down the side of the bowl, car- 
rying with it the edge of the fow ; at the same time his right 
hand is performing a similar operation at the side next to 
him, the fingers pointing downwards, and the palm present- 
ing outwards. He does this slowly, from side to side, gradu- 
ally descending deeper and deeper, till his fingers meet each 
other at the bottom ; so that nearly the whole of the fibres 
of the root are by these means enclosed in the fow, forming, 
as it were, a roll of about two feet in length, lying along 
the bottom from side to side, the edges of the fow meeting 
each other underneath. He now carefully rolls it over so 
that the edges overlapping each other, or rather intermin- 
gling, come uppermost. He next doubles in the two ends, 
and rolls it carefully over again, endeavouring to reduce it 
to a narrower and firmer compass. He now brings it cau- 
tiously out of the fluid, taking firm hold of it by the two 
ends, one in each hand (the back of the hands being up- 
wards ;) and raising it breast-high, with his arms considera- 
bly extended, he brings his right hand towards his breast, 
moving it gradually onwards, and whilst his left hand is 
coming round towards his right shoulder, his right hand par- 
tially twisting the fow, lays the end which it holds upon 
the left elbow, so that the fow lies thus extended upon that 
arm, one end being still grasped by the left hand. The 
right hand being now at liberty, is brought under the left 
fore-arm (which still remains in the same situation,) and 
carried outwardly towards the left elbow, that it may again 
seize in that situation the end of the fow. The right hand 
then describes a bold curve outwardly from the chest, whilst 
the left comes across the chest, describing a curve nearer to 
10* 
