`It is in order to express the sap, which contains the poison. The dry
pith is wholesome and nourishing. Still, I do not mean to taste my
cakes, until I have tried their effect on our fowls and the ape.'
By this time our supply of roots being reduced to damp powder, the
canvas bag was filled with it, and tying it tightly up, I attempted to
squeeze it, but soon found that mechanical aid was necessary in order
to express the moisture.
My arrangements for this purpose were as follows. A strong straight
beam was made flat on one side, smooth planks were laid across two of
the lower roots of our tree; on these we placed the sack, above the
sack another plank, and over that the long beam; one end was passed
under a root near the sack, the other projected far forward. And to
that we attached all the heaviest weights we could think of, such as an
anvil, iron bars and masses of lead. The consequent pressure on the bag
was enormous, and the sap flowed from it to the ground.
`Will this stuff keep any time?' inquired my wife, who came to see how
we were getting on. `Or must all this great bagful be used at once? In
that case we shall have to spend the whole of tomorrow in baking
cakes.'
`Not at all,' I replied, `once dry, the flour in barrels will keep
fresh a long time.
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