Book VI. Chapter III. AMBOINESE HERBAL.

and can be expanded into thin sheets; this paper consists of long and thin membranes, of a very delicate substance and yellowish, much like the inner bark of the Lime or Birch tree among us. One cannot write on both sides of it, but must fold them double and sew or glue the edges together. The art of making paper among the Chinese is very ancient; however, our ink and sharp quills or pens are not suitable for their use; instead, they write upon it with brushes, and their ink is made from soot or lampblack.

The preparation of Chinese paper from reeds is mentioned in the Chinese Atlas referring to Martino Martini's Novus Atlas Sinensis, 1655 in the seventh province, Huquang; others have described the following method to me: the tender reed or Robong the edible young bamboo shoots is cut into small pieces, boiled in water, pounded, and frequently strained, almost in the same manner as paper is made in our country. From the Robong of the Bulu Swangi literally "Ghost Bamboo", another flexible paper is formed, useful for painting, similar to the Deluwam bark cloth paper of Tambucco. If the Chinese sheets are tripled and glued together with Candje starch or rice glue, it results in a thick and polished paper suitable for painting; from the second kind, parasols are formed.

CHAPTER THREE.

The third species of Indian reed bears such a resemblance to the Leleba alba White Bamboo, especially its dried and cleaned pipes, that they might be considered one and the same; yet they differ significantly from each other, which is why I have classified this as a distinct species. It forms a thick bush, of which the inner, larger trunks are over two fingers thick; the outer ones, however, are scarcely the thickness of a pinky finger. This reed bears large and very long joints, three and a half to four feet long, pale green on the outside and as rough as shark skin original: pellis galei, so that iron, wood, and bone can be polished with them; the outer and thinner pipes are smoother.

The substance of this reed is thicker and more solid than that of the Leleba, and so hard that if it is struck with a large knife, called a Parang a Malay cleaver or machete, sparks of fire fly out. Many thin twigs sit upon the nodes of the joints, as in the Leleba, but many of these are so short and firm that they resemble thorns and cause wounds.

The leaves mostly emulate those of the black Leleba, but are smoother and not hairy, yet still sharp and rough if handled with the hands. Its clustered flowers and seeds produced in the same manner as was said above regarding the Leleba. It forms such large clumps original: stolones / stoelen that one cannot reach the thick pipes unless some of the thin ones are first hacked away. Its roots and Robong do not differ from those of the Leleba. It grows in black clay soil, both on the plains and in the more humid and rocky mountains.

Name. In Latin, Arundarbor spiculorum Reed-tree of darts; in Malay and Balinese, Bulutuy; in Ternate, Tabatico Tuy and Tuy Tuy; in Banda, Fuluck; in Amboina, Utte lauit; in Huamohel, Tinat.

Location. It grows abundantly in the Molucca Islands, more rarely in Amboina, and most especially in Manipa and Little Ceram; it likewise occurs in the interior of Java, and is planted around the coastal villages for the convenience of its pipes.

Use. From these pipes, the inhabitants of the Moluccas, Java, and Bali form their flutes, called Tuy in the Ternate language, from which this reed received its name, as if one were to call it "flute-reed." The best missiles, called Sagu fagu, are also formed from this reed, namely if the whole stalks are simply sharpened to a point at the end and slightly charred; these penetrate so fiercely that they can pierce a man through and through in a single throw. For this reason, I have named it in Latin Arundarbor spiculorum, that is, the "dart-throwing reed." In places where it grows abundantly, it can also be used to make Seri fencing or palisades, for it is more durable than the Bulu seru.

The Bulutuy growing in Nusa Laut is nothing other than the aforementioned Leleba alba, which bears pipes or joints four feet long and more, which, when scrubbed with sand, are very...