The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1879-05-28

being either so palatable or nutritious
as it is prolific, and is never preferred,
even where it is most abundant, to
rice.
Singapore is at present the chief
place of manufacture and principal
mart for granulated sage and "sago
-four" as it is termed in commerce,
but which is, in fact, the tecula, or
ungranulated starch. The granu-
lated fecula, or sage, of a dirty
brown color, used to be exported
from the Archipelago in small guam
titles, but when the trade in Europe
was thrown open, in 1914, the Chi
nese of Malacca began to prepare a
superior starch, known in commerce
under the name OF pearl sage.
All the raw sage manufactured at
Singapore is brought from islands
to the eastward, principally from the
northwest coast of Borneo and the
north. eastern part of Sumatra, with
It's adjacent isles, from Siak to Indra-
gari, but considerable portion
comes from places more than 1000
miles distant.
This article is very easily prepared
for expectation in its raw state; the
tree is cut down, then the cellular
tissue is taken out and made up
into bundles. In this form some
$4,000 OF 10000 tons are annually
imported at Singapore, where it is
prepared by the Chinese, who clear
the meal or farna from the fibers of
the cellular tissue, when the flour is
either made up for expectation in its
natural state, or graduated into pearl
sage.
MANUFACTURE OF PEARL sAGO IN
SINGAPORE BY THE CHINESE.
The tampins or leaf bags OF sage
having been placed in heaps in the
shed, the first step is to open them,
cast the contents on an inclined plane,
about II feet square, surrounded
by rim rising about 2 inches from
the surface; the sage, massed togeth-
er by having remained compressed
in the tampin, is here broken up by
the common ch0etzdL "a kind of hoet
The raw sage having been thus
made ready for the mandatory, the
first process to which it is subjected
is that of thorough washing, with
out which it would remain impure
and colored. For this purpose strong
tubs are employed, about IL inches
deep, 40 inches in diameter az the
top, and + inches or more at the bot
tom; they are bound by three hoops,
each formed OF about six rattans
twisted together. A piece of thin,
coarse cloth is fastened by its four
corners over each tub when used,
and hung loosely into it. The moist
sage being poured into this strainer,
and there broken and bruised by the
hand, is agitated until all its fine par
ticles pass through the cloth and de-
scend to the bottom of the tub,
while the fragments OF leaf, fiber, and
other impurities which remain in the
cloth are shaken into a rude mass,
which is taken up in bowl and
thrown aside The rapidity and deft
ness with which this and all the other
manipulations are performed are very
striking. The sage is next stirred
with an oar for about an hour, after
which it is left to stand for twelve
hours, when the water is ladled out,
and the sago, which fills about halt
the tub, is removed to undergo the
last purifying process which precedes
the granulation. This is performed
in mode at once simple and ingen.
ious, the same principle being awaited
of which serves the gold and tin
miners of the Archipelago to clean
the ore; the more precious matter
happening, i'll all three cases, TO be
heavier than that with which it is
mixed, and being thus readily separa-
BILE by the action of running water.
Two tubs are placed as distance
of 10 or IL feet from each other, and
connected by troughs, raised by
framework above them. These
troughs are about 10 inches deep, IA
inches broad at the top and IL inches
at the bottom, one end being closed
and the other open, but having
grooves in their sides and bottom,
like those of a sluice, into which
series of horizontal pieces OF wood
or stick fit, each being about three
Fights of an inch in thickness. The
end of riece of cloth, of the
leadth OF the trough, being placed