75 



The trees having been felled, and their roots cleared 

 out of the ground, and the grass, &c., burnt off, plant- 

 ing commences when the drala tree (erythrina indica) 

 begins to flower, in the month of July or August, 

 according as the season is late or early. All hands 

 assist in planting. The soil is thrown up into small 

 m ounds, buke, from 3 to 5 feet apart. On each 

 mound a small yam, or the crown of a large 

 one is planted. Should the ground be flat, open 

 drains are made to carry off the water, or the ground 

 is thrown up into beds with ditches between, and the 

 yam mounds formed in rows on the beds. The stems 

 of the yams are supplied with canes to climb upon. 

 The canes are generally laid horizontally, supported 

 by forked sticks stuck in the ground, or by the tops 

 of the mounds. The roots or tubers are ready for 

 digging by the beginning of March ; the drying of 

 the stems indicates that the tubers are ripe. When 

 dug, the yams are stored in airy sheds erected on 

 the fields. These sheds are constructed of bamboos 

 set upright, and the roof made waterproof by a 

 thatching of grass. After being stored, the yams are 

 turned over occasionally ; the young stems are rubbed 

 off those that have started growth, and all the decaying 

 ones are removed. They are used -boiled, roasted, or 

 steamed, the larger ones being cut in pieces, and the 

 smaller ones cooked whole. 



There are two kinds of dalo, land and water da to, 

 j ast as in India there is mountain and swamp rice. 

 The land dalo is most commonly met with in the 

 wettest districts. In fact, like mountain rice, it will 

 only grow in places where the rainfall is great, and on 

 land from which the water has neither drained, nor 

 evaporated after the forests have been cut down. 



