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akaakai : lo'i akaakai designated that particular type of field that 

 was formed by bending down the rushes, covering them with dirt, 

 and then irrigating- the field. 



The ground within the lo'i is broken by means of a mattock 

 or 00. Oo designates the tool largely used by the natives in culti- 

 vation in preference to the implements of modern farmers. The 

 00 closely resembles in its manner of use the sharpened stick of 

 kauila or other hard wood, used by them previous to their knowl- 

 edge of iron. The first metal oo were blubber spades brought 

 here by the whaling-vessels. The boundaries of a lo'i depend 

 largely upon the shapes of adjacent lo'i, and upon the relative 

 positions of the various levels along which the irrigation water 

 is to run. 



The embankments of the lo'i are built up of stones and clods 

 of earth. These embankments were commonly known as kuauna. 



In former times the kuauna between the lo'i was much wider 

 than at present. They served as a convenient place on which to 

 throw the grass and weeds pulled up from the lo'i until they were 

 wanted as fertilizer. Often sugar-cane, banana plants, or the ki 

 plant, grew luxuriantly on these kuauna. As kalo land increased 

 in value the kuauna naturally shrunk in width, and with the ad- 

 vent of the Chinese planter they were often made too narrow to 

 walk upon dry shod. Hoohu meant to run along the bank of a 

 kalo patch. 



Names less frequently used, for the embankments of the lo'i, 

 were ika, kaika and knaio. 



The side or border of an upland kalo field was called izci. Izvi 

 means a bone, a name applied to the long rows of stones gathered 

 from the nw'o aina or to a narrow strip of upland to be planted 

 with kalo or potatoes. These izvi always run in the direction of 

 the slope from the sea towards the mountains. As they coin- 

 cide with the division lines between the fields, the term izci aina 

 came to mean the boundaries between such lands, and is a term 

 often used in that sense in the descriptions in the Hawaiian lan- 

 guage on record in the Land Office. 



If necessary considerable soil is taken from the lo'i and put 

 upon the embankments so that the surface of the lo'i will be 

 below the level of the water supply. Laola'o laan were the little 

 sticks put down to sustain the kuauna or bank of the kalo patch. 

 Water is then turned in and is soon soaked up by the broken soil. 

 While the ground is still wet it is dug up or plowed several times. 

 The Hawaiians call this labor mahi-ai. 



It is evident that after long and continuous usage as described 

 above, the soil is sure to become exceedingly sticky, so that the 

 air does not penetrate it. Experiments conducted by Mr. F. A. 

 Clowes in cooperation with the Federal Experiment Station, Ho- 

 nolulu, show that it is desirable to expose the soil, from time to 

 time, to the action of the air. This is accomplished by plowing 

 the fields as deeply as possible after the removal of each crop. 



