187 



corded it. These articles may indicate a few of the many ap- 

 proaches towards this plant of venerable antiquity. 



The name kalo is used throughout this series, in preference to 

 the modernly-used taro. The authors felt that this plant should 

 be designated by its original and authentic Hawaiian name* The 

 authors realize the many gaps and incompletenesses that neces- 

 sarily characterize a series of this nature. Many of the topics 

 are treated suggestively — for example, an exhaustive study of the 

 mythology of Hawaiian kalo is yet to be made. This series is to 

 be considered as a reconnoissance. 



1. IXTRODUCTION. 



The kalo is one of the most important food plants utilized by 

 the human race. Together with its immediate relatives, it has 

 been intensively cultivated by peoples of the tropics and sub- 

 tropics since the dawn of man's dominion over nature. Kalo 

 has always been the chief food of the Hawaiian race, and of many 

 other peoples of Oceanica. 



At this point attention may be properly directed to some of 

 the salient features of the Hawaiian Islands and the Hawaiian 

 people, with special reference to kalo production. 



The Territory of Hawaii consists of an archipelago two thou- 

 sand miles long, in the North Pacific Ocean. It is 2100 miles 

 west of San Francisco and 4700 miles east of Manila. These 

 islands were discovered by Captain Cook in 1778. The land sur- 

 face of the eight inhabited islands aggregates about 6500 square 

 miles, being a little less than the State of New Jersey The 

 largest island, Hawaii, has an area about the same as Connecticut. 



To the northwest of the larger islands lies a series of tiny coral 

 atolls and barren rocks, the majority of them scarcely rising above 

 the surface of the sea. These have a combined area of less than 

 six square miles, and are of no agricultural significance, save as 

 sources of guano. 



This chain of islands is of volcanic origin. \^olcanic activity 

 has evidently moved southeastward along well-defined fissures. 

 The smaller, most deeply-eroded islands, having fewest traces of 

 recent volcanic action, are to the northwest, while to the south- 

 east they are larger, less eroded, with fresh lava flows and other 

 indications of late eruptions. Indeed, on Hawaii itself, the 

 largest and most southerly of the islands, are the two great active 

 volcanoes, Kilauea and ^launa Loa. On this island lava-flows 

 and other volcanic phenomena occur at relatively frequent in- 

 tervals. 



The four million acres that comprise the land area of Hawaii 

 are of the following types: waste land, 32% ; forest land, 25% ; 

 grazing land, Z?>% ; arable land, 6% : reclaimable land, 4%. Water 



* Kalo and taro are merely dialectic vaiiatiuns of the same word. 



