FISH POISONS KELLIP AND SMITH 403 



At Himncayo, a city situatcil in tlu' Mantaro Valley at an elevation 

 of about 11,000 feet, cube roots were on sale in many shops. They 

 were brought to Iluancayo by natives from the montana. and no 

 stems with leaves or flowers were present with the roots to permit 

 identification of the plant. We learned that water treated with (nihe 

 was sometimes used as a sheep dip in this re<];ion. Another plant 

 used both as an insecticide and as a lish poison in the Mantaro 

 Valley was tall hue ^ Lvpinns inutahilis Sweet {L. cmckshanksii A. 

 Gray), ]ilantinps of which were seen near Huancayo. The seeds, 

 [loisonous when uncooked, were made edible by boiling, the water 

 (hen being used in cattle-delousing or in fishing. 



At Aina, several days of travel southeast of Huancayo and our 

 first stop in the montana, we were shown a i)lant in cultivation 

 called cube. It was clearly Tephrosia toxicarin,, and after much 

 questioning we were told that farther inland there was another much 

 more potent fish poison, cu'oe de almnhhi (starch cube). The plant 

 at Aina was known as Tiiutuy cube, from its resemblance to the well- 

 known dye plant. Indigofera futffruficosa, locally called mutuy. 



The trail we were following ended at Kimpitiriki, a small mission 

 on the Apurimac River, and here for the first time we found the true 

 cube plant. Near the mission lived a half-breed farmer, who culti- 

 vated a small amount of cube for his own use. The plantation con- 

 sisted of about 100 plants, placed in irregular row^s, with 10 feet or 

 more between plants. Here the plants were slender erect trees, 

 8 to 12 feet in height, with some of the upper branches scaudent. 

 These were said to be 2 or 3 j'ears old, and the roots were used at the 

 end of the fourth year (the roots only in this case, although some- 

 times the stems also are used). 



The region is populated by scattered families of Campos Indians, 

 and at the time some of the men had gone on an expedition up the 

 Apurimac to obtain more cxibe root for a forthcoming fishing party. 

 We could not ascertain whether they Avere seeking wild cuhe or 

 whether they knew of other plantations upriver. 



As our plans called for covering a large area in the brief space 

 of seven months, we were unable to explore further this immediate 

 region. How much farther south this ])articular })lant is cultivated 

 we do not know. From reports we judge that it is found all along 

 the Apurimac River until that stream has attained an elevation of 

 0,000 feet above sea level. At the higher altitudes in the Department 

 of Apurimac this cube gives way to other fish poisons. Rei)or(s also 

 indicate that it is unquestionably the same as the plant grown along 

 the lower Apurimac and the Ene, the region from which roots are 

 brought to Huancayo, 



Although the plants at Kimpitiriki were neither in flower nor in 

 fruit, they were at once recognized as representing a species of the 



