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en place in the Hawaiian Islands during the past century, the taro 

 has become of rapidly decreasing importance as a food plant. 

 The natives have diminished until there is today but a vanishing 

 remnant of a once splendid stock*. They are the chief con- 

 sumers of taro and poi ; the other nationalities now dominant — 

 American, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Filipino, etc. 

 — use relatively insignificant quantities. It is to be hoped that 

 taro and its products will become more generally known to Amer- 

 icans, not only in Hawaii, but also on the mainland, especially 

 in the Southern States. Its simple culture, its comparative free- 

 dom from insects and fungus pests, its high yields per acre, its 

 excellent storage qualities, its varied uses, and its extraordinary 

 nutritive values — all combine to make the Hawaiian taro a food- 

 plant of much interest and of large economic possibilities. This 

 is particularly true at the present time, when the attention of 

 the nation is focussed upon the conservation of food, and the 

 wheat shortage places special emphasis upon the starches. 



* The Vanishing Hawaiian, Vaughau MacCaughev, Pearson's Maga- 

 zine, 36:337-338, Oct., 1916. 



