Economic Life 389 



may be used for camotcs {Convolvulus batatas), sugar-cane, or cot- 

 ton, but in the majority of cases they are allowed to lie unused for 

 several seasons, when the grass or undergrowth is again removed 

 and the fields replanted. 



The wet fields produce by far the greater part of the rice, and 

 it is about them that most of the agricultural labors center. In the 

 broad valleys, low embankments, of sufficient height to maintain the 

 water at a depth of two or three inches, separate the fields. The lower 

 plots are often of considerable length and width, some covering as 

 much as an acre of ground, but as they begin to ascend the slopes, the 

 walls rise higher, and the fields become narrower until they may be 

 only a few feet in width. In the rugged mountain districts, the ter- 

 races often begin just above the flood water of the stream. At this 

 point, a stone wall, four or five feet in height, is erected, and back of 

 this the mountain side is cut away and filled in until it forms a step or 

 terrace. Back of this another wall is raised, and the process is re- 

 peated until at last the terraces extend for two or three hundred feet 

 up the mountain side (Plate XLIXJ. When the field is first made, 

 top soil, enriched with vegetable growth, is laid on the surface, often 

 to a depth of several inches, but from this time on no fertilizer, other 

 than the decaying straw of the previous crop, is added, although the 

 field is used continuously for many years. 



Water is conducted to many of the fields by means of ditches, 

 usually by diverting the flow of some of the numerous springs or 

 streams but in a few instances, stone dams have been thrown across 

 the rivers and the water carried for considerable distances by flumes 

 and ditches. The highest terraces are first inundated to the desired 

 depth, and then openings are made in the side walls so as to allow 

 the lower fields to be flooded. This method of irrigation provides for 

 the maximum use of the water, and also supplies a constant current 

 which prevents the formation of stagnant pools. 



Some of the fields are situated too far up the mountain side to be 

 reached by ditches, and in such cases the growth of the rice is 

 entirely dependent on the rainfall; however, in normal years, the 

 precipitation is sufficient to mature the crop. 



At the beginning of the rainy season, some of the seed rice is 

 sprouted in specially prepared beds in the villages. In such cases a 

 small plot is surrounded with low dirt walls, the soil is enriched with 

 manure, water is added, and the whole is worked until it becomes a 

 thin mud, on which the rice is thickly sown. Around this bed, a bamboo 

 frame is erected to keep out pigs and chickens, while from time to time 



