The hemp ordinarily stripped by the men is considered too fine to be used in the manufacture of clothing, so a smaller stripping device is employed by the woman (Plate XX). On this she cleans the outer layers of the hemp stalk, from which a stronger and coarser thread can be obtained. The fiber is tied in a continuous thread and is wound onto a reel. The warp threads are measured on sharpened sticks driven into a hemp or banana stalk, and are then transferred to a rectangular frame (Plate XXI). The operator, with the final pattern in mind, overties or wraps with waxed threads, such portions of the warp as she desires to remain white in the completed garment. So carefully does she wrap these sections, that, when the thread is removed from the frame and placed in the liquid dye, no portion of the coloring matter penetrates to the portions thus protected. If a red color is desired the root of the _sikarig_[17] palm is scraped and the scrapings placed in bark vats filled with cold water. The thread is first washed in, and is later boiled with the dye for a half hour, after which it is placed in a basket to drain and dry. The process is repeated daily for about two weeks, or until the thread assumes a brick red color. If a purple hue is desired a little lime is added to the dye. Black is obtained by a slightly different method. The leaves, root, and bark of the _pinarrEm_ tree are crushed in water. This yields a black liquor which is poured into a jar containing the thread and the whole is placed over a slow fire where it remains until the liquid is near the boiling point. When this is reached the thread is removed and placed in a gourd, the open end of which fits over the jar so as to catch the steam coming from the dye. After a time the thread is removed and dried, and the process is repeated until at last a permanent black is obtained. After the coloring is complete the thread is again placed on the rectangular frame, the over-tying is removed and the warp is ready for the loom (Plate XXII.) In the loom (Plate XXIII) the threads encircle a bamboo pole attached to the wall, and are held tense by a strap which passes around the waist of the operator. The weft threads are forced up against the fabric by means of the comber board and are beaten in with a baton. The warp threads are held in their relative positions, first by the comber board, second by loops which pass under the lower threads and over a small stick or lease rod, and lastly by passing over and under, or around, other lease rods. These are rolled away as the work progresses. [17] _Morinda Bracteata Roxb_. [18] Woof threads are generally of one color. A somewhat similar process used in Java is described by SIR THOS. RAFFLES in The History of Java, Vol. I, p. 189. [Transcriber's note: Although footnote 2 appears on the same page as the above paragraph, it is not clear to what particular part of that paragraph it refers.]