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quinua,’ which are marketed at the same price. In the Yaruqui 
Valley, near Quito, it appears to be most abundant, and it is 
reported that 100 tons may be obtained there yearly. It is said 
that about 20,000 pounds of this article may be bought in Quito 
monthly, and that by offering a small advance in price, a much 
larger quantity could be obtained in the provinces of Pichincha 
and Imbabura, which are situated in the inter-Andean Valleys. 
“It is seldom that there is a failure of the quinua crop. This 
only occurs once in a number of years, when there is great scarcity 
of rain. The quinua when harvested and dried, and then stored in a 
perfectly dry place, will keep for about one year, after which it 
will lose more or less of its flavour. During the time it is kept in 
“The quinua is washed before cooking, which may be done by 
machinery, for the reason that the washing takes away a portion of 
As an article of food quinoa is principally used by the Indians or 
the labouring classes, who earn very small wages. By these it is 
cooked in an open pot and frequently in sufficient quantity to last 
the family for some time. In its cooked state it is again allowe 
to dry, and it is then an easy matter to preserve it for some weeks. 
The dishes prepared from it are soups ; cakes with brown sugar 
added to them, called “panela”; anda drink called “chicha de 
quinua,” made from a mixture of quinoa and corn or barley. 
Teodoro Wolf states in his Geography and Geology of Ecuador, 
which was published in 1892, that corn and quinoa were the 
principal articles of food of the ancient Indians, and that the raising 
of the latter was more extensively engaged in by them than by the 
present inhabitants, on account of the recent introduction and 
development of other cereals. 
8 The price usually paid for quinua in this country is from $3 to 
$5 United States currency per quintal of 46 kilos (101 pounds). 
The bulk of this article is marketed from June to October. As to 
the cost of shipping this product to San Francisco or New York, it 
may be stated that the freight rate from Quito to Panama is about 
$3 United States currency per quintal, with an additional expense 
of about 50 cents Now quintal for packing.” 
Quoting from Prof. A. H. Church in “ Food Grains of India,” 
the plant was introduced some years ago into that country from 
Peru, but so far as can be gathered its introduction does not appear 
to have been a success. 
According to this writer a light argillaceous soil or loam is 
It sown in furrows or 
When sown in nurseries and then transpl 
harves planted to the fields. The 
: eee a place Seven months after seed-time, It is a hardy 
gt «tes may be grown successfully in countries and climates 
