ACCOUNT OF CELEBES , AMBOYNA, &C.

branches of the tree they have felled, with which they Ioofen the fago all round fromthe bark and reduce it to the appearance of faw-duft.

The whole tree being thus poekeled out the raw fago is put by portions into a trough,like a canoe, and water is poured upon it, and well mixed with the fago, by whichmeans the meal is feparated from the filaments.

Thefe filaments, which might be denominated the bran of the fago, are called ela,and are made ufe of to feed hogs, poultry, &c.

The water, thus impregnated with the fago-meal, having floodHill for fome time,the meal fubfides by its own weight to the bottom, the water is then poured off, and itis a fecond time purified in the fame manner; after this the wet meal is laid upon flatwicker-bafkets to dry, and it is then kneaded together, and into little cakes of threeinches long, two inches broad, and half an inch thick ; finally, it is put into moulds ofthe fame fize and fhape, and baked over the fire till it is done enough, and becomesdry and hard *.

The tafte of the fago-bread does not much vary from that of the caffava, or manioc,of the Weft Indies, but it appeared to me to be more nutritive ; it is not unpleafant toeat when it has been firft a little foaked, and afterwards fried in butter, yet it is verydifficult of digeftion. ... . >

The fineft part of the meal is mixed with water, and the pafte is rubbed into littleround grains, like finall fhot, and dried. This preparation is not difagreeable in foups,in lieu of Italian macaroni: the fago that is produced in Borneo is efteemed the beft forthis purpofe.

A preparation is likewife made of this fineft part of the meal which is called popeda,and has much refemblance to the porridge of buck-wheat meal which is made inHolland, but it is much more gelatinous. This is eat off of little flicks, which beingdipped into the popeda, take with them a part of it which adheres to them ; they arethen dipped in fifh-broth, and, together with a little fifh, conftitute the beft difh of theAmboynefe, and even of thofe who are defendants of Europeans.

A toma, or twenty-five pounds weight of fago-meal, is fold here in general for fevenor eight ftivers; and an ordinary tree, which can commonly be poekeled from itstwelfth to its twentieth year, yields five or fix hundred pounds of it.

Befides the farinaceous part for food, the fago-tree yields other things of utility tothe Indians.

The ftem or bark, after the meal has been poekeled out, is made ufe of by the nativesto form little bridges over rivulets, or little creeks.

What are called the branches, which are channelled on the upper fide, and convexon the under, ferve alfo fometimes for the lame purpofe ; but the chief ufe which theAmboynefe make of them is for the walls and roofs of their houfes, and for packing-cafes, &c. This article is called gabbe-gabba.

The leaves, laced together, form what is called atap, and ferve inftead of tiles forcovering of houfes, and to preferve things from the rain; but roofs of atap muft berenewed every fix or feven years f.

' Although

* The mould, or oven, for baking fago-bread is made of earthenware ; it is generally nine inches fquare,and about four deep, divided into two equal parts by a partition parallel to its fides. Each of thofe parts isfubdivided into eight or nine, about an inch broad, fo that the whole contains two rows of cells, abouteight or nine in a row. The oven is turned firft on one fide and afterwards on the other upon the fire, andthe cakes are fufficiently baked in about ten or twelves minutes. Tr.

•j- The fago-tree has, like all the trees of the palm kind, a cabbage, which is eaten by the natives,though it is not fo good or wholefome as that of the aneebong, or proper cabbage-palra. When a fago-

tree