Sentence:  ... the sails are of <WSD>Matting</WSD> and are made narrow at the head and Square at the foot,... / Besides Cloth they [Tahitians] make several different sorts of <WSD>matting</WSD>, both better and finer than any we have in Europe; the stuff they make it on is the Produce of the Palm tree. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Coarse fabric, of the kind used to make mats.