, 1911-04-15

Ceram-one of the Moluccas-is prohablu
the metropolis of native sago mannfactnro
in that part OF the world. The whole of tb;o
large island is practically covered with for.
est, and the greater area is very mountain.
Gus; but there is much low-lying coastal
land, and there the sage palm (Netroe4lou
S09u Of botanists, a species which only oc-
ours in the East Indian Archipelago) grows
IuXuriantly. 1t is turned to almost as many
uses as the bamboo, for besides FURNISHING
sage, its leaf-fronds provide 'attap' or thatcb.
the whole mid-ribs of the leaves, termed
'gaba-gaba', make rafters and posts r.
houses, and when split are used for floors
and walls split into smaller strips they make
excellent cord.
Many people seem to think that Cocoa
nuts and other fruits growing in these wild
countries may be plucked by ANYBODY who
wants them but all such trees, even in the
depths OF the forest, are private property
ana the sage palm Is no exception. Every
pam IS owned, either privately or by villages
or the Dutch Government but the trees and
prepared saSo are sold SO cheaply that pro-
badly no death from starvation Is ever haora
OF III the Dutch East Indies, for the saoo
from Ceram is sent all over the islands
Natives come TO Cela Il, which is vo,v tbi,
ly populated, from Ambon and man. otbar
islands far and near procure a Government
hcence to cut so many trees, and live ana
work IN Il s~ago-swamp till they have convert
ed the trees into Sage, sailing for home with
the finished product. The trunk of the
palm often attains f~orty-ive feet in length
to where the leaf-fronds spring, and a da-
meter of two feet but thirty feet to
the crown is a fair average, and even
then the trunk will usually measure two feet
IN #dianptAV S1pb troao az Diroo acct .La.
ing, two or three guilders each (about four
6hllllngsG and one man can fell, extract tho
plth, build the washing apparatus, and pre-
pare the Sage in about fifteen DAYS, if he
works hard but the Malay is rot fond Of
hard work, or indeed amy work, and in these
islands he can live almost without labour-
From one sage palm he can obtain a supply
OF food which, varied a little with FISH aud
vegetables, will last him many mouths. The
natives distinguish four varieties of naln
viz; Sagu duri and Sagu makanaru, which
are both thorny,the young trees being armed
on the trunk and leaf -sheathe Will immense.
strong slender spines, sharp as needles and
Sagu tuni and Sagu mollea, which are thorn
less. The amount Of sage produced from
these palms varies from about ten packages
OF finished sage from Sagu makanaru to
eighteen or twenty from the other trees,
eacH Packa66 Wel8nlu8 ABOUT twenty-five
cattles (say 80 H. The life Of q palm is
said to be about ten years, before it is ready
for telling this is done as soon as the
flower spike appears, and the tres is always
cut down before it is in full flower, otherwise
much Of the pith is spoilt.
After giving a description of the way in
which the sage is obtained from the palm,
the article goes on to say -
The prepared sage is usually baked into
small cakes about four by three inches and
and an inch thick, in a little clay oven with
about half a dozen Sits the powdered sage is
dried and deodorized in the sun for a day or
two, then sieved, and again spread out to
dry. The powder is then filed into the Sits
Of the oven, which has been previously heat
ed almost to a dull red, face down, over a
wood fire. The upper side is then covered
with piantain leaves, and in a few minutes
the cakes are ready. They cost a cent each
(about a f%arthing) in the Malay markets, and
keep indefinitely, and are therefore much
used on the Malay prahus for their long sea,
voyages.-Did