Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/365

 ARTICLES OF EXPORTATION. 349 the north coast of Sumatra. This is of a light brown colour, the grains large, and not easily bro- ken. The sago of Borneo is the next in value. It is whiter, but more friable. The produce of the Mokiccas, though greatest in quantity, is of the smallest estimation. The cost of granulated sago, from the hands of the grower or producer, is about twice the price of rice in Java, or a dollar a picul. In the market of Malacca, the sago of Siak may be had at from two to three dollars per picul. The sago of Borneo has been sold to the European merchant, in Java, as low as If dollar a picul. The foreign exporter will be able to ship the for- mer at from 3^ to 4fh dollars per picul. It may here be worth mentioning, that, within the last few years, the Chinese of Malacca have invented a pro- cess by which they refine sago so as to give it a fine pearly lustre. Not above four or five hundred piculs of this are manufactured. It is thought that it may be obtained at about 6 dollars per picul when the supply is more equal to the demand. A small quantity of it exposed for sale in the London mar- ket, in 1818, sold for about thrice the price of" or- dinary sago." Vegetable oils are produced and consumed in large quantities in the Indian islands, and might constitute, in time, a considerable article of expor- tation both to Europe and China. The oil of the ground pistachio and coco- nut are the most valu-