49 



IRRIGATION. 



The general water supply is not turned into the field until the 

 plants are well rooted and the leaves have begun to unfold. If 

 flooded too soon there is double danger — either that the plants 

 wdll tip over, due to insufficient rootage, or that the tender plant- 

 let will be attacked by root rot. Just before flooding, when the 

 plants are three weeks to a month old, the patch is cultivated be- 

 tween the rows. The water is then turned in, and the field is 

 kept continuously under water from this time until the time of 

 harvesting. 



It is highly important that the water be kept in continuous cir- 

 culation. This checks the breeding of mosquitoes, and the devel- 

 opment of root rot, and tends to produce a uniform stand. The 

 inlet and outlet of the flowing water in each field should be ar- 

 ranged that the flow will be as uniform as possible over the entire 

 area. /\ common yet most unscientific arrangement is one 

 whereby the water flows across one side or one end of the patch 

 and remains stagnant in the remainder. Under such conditions 

 the stand will not be uniform, and there is great danger from 

 root rot. 



CULTIVATIOX. 



During the first six months weeding is done. This is hand 

 labor. The weeds and dead kalo leaves are trampled into the 

 ground as fertilizer. After the first six months no more weeding 

 is done, as there is liability of injuring the kalo. The conn re- 

 mains comparatively small for a period of eight or ten months, 

 the leaves being the rapidly growing portion of the plant during 

 this period. Thriftly-growing kalo, full sized and good, was 

 called a'rohaha. During the last month or two the corm fills out 

 rapidly, the other parts of the plant contributing their strength 

 towards the growth of the corm. The vigorous and rank growth 

 of the kalo leaves, preceding the maturity of the corm, was called 

 olioJia or ff/ ohalia. The final development of the corm, which 

 was marked by the cessation of growth in the leaves, was called 

 hachit. These words are adjectives or adverbs, not substantives. 

 Sometimes the young kalo plants were bent away from the old 

 ones, in order to give all room to grow. This process was called 

 olw-kiila'i. 



HARVESTING. 



The growth of the kalo corm is quite difterent from that of 

 such a root as carrot, which grows downward from the depth at 

 which the seed is planted. The kalo corm is a true stem, and 

 forms at a point not lower than the bottom of the huli. It then 

 grows upward, and enlarges, the older leaves and roots gradually 

 dving. The maturing of the corm can be recognized by the yel- 



