Page:The Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina.djvu/76

71 the neck as the fancy of the wearer inclines. This fibre is procured after a very simple and primitive fashion, thus:—After the root is cooked (it produces food as well as fibre), it is not cut up into short sections for convenience in eating, as doing so would render the fibre comparatively worthless by reason of its shortness; therefore each root is taken separately, the skin peeled off. and the remainder, consisting of both farina and fibre, is twisted up into a knot, often being larger than a good sized fist, and these knots are crammed into the mouths agape for their reception—most ludicrously. Sometimes both hands are required in the performance of this feat. When one of these immense mouthfuls has been masticated sufficiently to extract all the farina, the residue, which is the fibre, is rejected in the shape of a small knot of beautiful white tow. These knots of tow, as they are formed, are carefully packed away in bags, which are then utilised as pillows, until the time comes round for twine making. When about to make twine, these tow knots are steeped in water for twelve hours, which effectually softens any starchy matter they may contain. They are then teased out and scraped with mussel shells, until they are perfectly cleansed. The clean flax is then tied up into small neat hanks, and is ready for the thread makers' operations.

When we consider that these aborigines do not possess any appliances other than those furnished by Dame Nature, it is truly wonderful how deft they are in the making of cord and twine. They make these of sizes varying from the thickness of our clothes lines, down to the very thinnest twine. Whatever the size may be, the cord or twine in all cases consists of two plies or strands only;