17 



THE KALO IN HAWAII {VII). 



By Vaughan MacCaughey and Joseph S. Emerson. 



THE CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS OF KALO {CoHcludcd). 



In the latest issue of the Forester the cultural requirements of 

 the Kalo in Hawaii were discussed in some detail. In recent 

 ■s ears there has been a movement on the part of the National De- 

 partment of Agriculture to establish the kalo and related aroids 

 among the root-crops of the Southern States. The cultural re- 

 quirements in these regions differ somewhat from those in Ha- 

 waii, and the contrasts may be shown by the following extracts 

 from recent bulletins by the U. S. Department of Agriculture : 



"For many years the lack of a wet-land root crop has been felt 

 throughout the South Atlantic and Gulf States. In view of the 

 fact that some 40,000 acres in the Carolinas and Georgia have 

 been fully abandoned, with at least half as much ground that is 

 only planted once in two to four years on account of the de- 

 creased profits in rice culture in that section, an efifort has been 

 made to find profitable crops which may be grown in the rich 

 soils of the coast-plain area of both of the regions mentioned, 

 which are too wet for profitable potato culture. 



"The recent increase of interest in starch roots, which may be 

 utilized in the production of alcohol as well as for stock feeding, 

 has lent a still greater importance to this question. 



"The aroid root crops are practically new to this country and 

 come from the Tropics. However, their crop season is suf- 

 ficiently short to allow of their maturing in ordinary seasons 

 before the advent of killing frosts ; in fact, one or two of the 

 varieties have been successfully grown with a fair yield as far 

 north as central New York." — Barrett, Bur. Plant Industry, 

 Bui. 164. 



"The dasheen* requires rich, sandy soil, very moist but well 

 drained. The plant will not be greatly injured by occasional 

 flooding for a short period. Such lands as the so-called ham- 

 mock lands of Florida are especially adapted for the cultivation 

 of this crop. And low-lying sandy land that is fairly well drained, 

 but still too wet for general field crops, can be used to advantage. 

 On these low lands it would be advisable to plant on ridges. 



"Planting should be done as early in spring as the conditions 

 of soil and climate will permit. This may be as early as the first 

 of February in southern Florida and as late as the last of March 

 or the early part of April in the Carolinas. 



"Preliminary experiments indicate that it does not pay to use 

 very small dasheens for planting if larger tubers are available, 

 as this mav result in the vield being reduced bv as much as 15 



*The dasheen is the taro of the West Indies and China. 



