374 The Philippine Journal of Science 195 
holes about 20 centimeters apart. The tool consists of a bamboo 
pole, about 3 meters long, with a sharpened iron point on one end. 
The other end is split into many parts, each one nicely rounded. 
This tool serves a double purpose when in use: the sharp iron- 
tipped end is plunged into the soil with a rebounding movement, 
thus making a line of holes; while the split part, making a 
rattling noise, furnishes a sort of music which lightens labor. 
Fifteen or twenty neighbors may assemble to help in the work 
of planting. They may line up side by side, each with a bamboo 
tool in his hand and the task of making holes begins. They 
manipulate these musical tools in very good time. Others follow 
with small bamboo tubes or baskets of palay and drop from 5 to 
20 grains in each hill, while still others may follow along and 
cover the seed with their feet or with bamboo brushes. 
The methods of raising upland rice are open to the following 
criticisms: 
Preparation of soil is often very poor. 
Rotation of crops is not well provided for, and crop residues and 
manures are wasted. 
Distribution of seed is very uneven, and the amount used is excessive. 
Methods of covering seed are faulty. 
The preparation of a good seed bed is the first essential. 
The ground should be thoroughly worked to a depth of at least 
from 15 to 20 centimeters and the soil made very fine. Fine 
soil particles not only permit the fibrous roots to penetrate the 
soil readily, but favor the retention of the optimum amount of 
moisture. Land under continuous cultivation can be better and 
more readily prepared than cogon or grassland. When the work 
is delayed until a short time before sowing, the soil cannot be 
properly prepared. This is especially true of cogon or grassland. 
Due to a toxin secreted by cogon, and to the abundance of roots 
not decayed, grain crops do not grow well on this kind of land 
when it is newly prepared. Soil of this character can be put 
into excellent condition only when its preparation is begun at 
least six months or a year prior to sowing. 
It is advisible first to cultivate a crop or two of cowpeas, soy 
beans, mongos, or peanuts upon this soil. They grow better 
than most crops, and when planted in rows, 60 centimeters or 
more apart, they can be cultivated or plowed easily. In this way 
the grass can be eradicated, the soil enriched to some extent, 
and the physical condition greatly improved—the result being 
an ideal seed bed for rice. 
A continued rotation of rice with legumes will enable the 
farmer to prolong the productivity of his soil. All plant resi- 
